Dormy House

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

The service was caring. People were treated as individuals with kindness and respect. Staff worked with compassion and encouraged people to maintain their dignity, promote their independence and were supported to make their own choices. People’s immediate needs were addressed. The culture of the service has improved to become more caring and supportive and the wellbeing of staff was considered.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People were treated with compassion, care and kindness. People’s privacy and dignity were respected by attentive staff. People said, “They’re all very helpful. They treat me well. I recognise them and they know me”, "When I first arrived here I was awful to the staff...Now I appreciate what they are doing for me. They treat me well. They are wonderful” and “[The staff] are all respectful and kind. They do what is best for me and I trust them”. Relatives agreed staff were caring when they supported their family members. They said, “The dignity that they show my relative is incredible…There’s a lot of laughter. The care is superb. [The staff] mean it – it’s not an act” and “Because there are more regular staff working here now they have got to know my relative and me. It makes a huge difference to the care…[The nurse] knows my relative inside out. When I’m here, they always ask me to step outside of the room if they need to change my relative. Everything is done with dignity and respect”.

The manager told us they led by example to ensure people were treated with kindness, compassion and dignity in their day-to-day care and support. The manager added, “[Staff] can see that a manger does things with them rather than telling them what to do”. The manager worked with staff to ensure people felt the staff listened to them and communicated with them appropriately, in a way they can understand. The manager said they had an in-depth dignity training that was very useful for the staff team to embed good practices. This helped the staff team to better recognise where they needed to improve their practice regarding how they would treat people. Staff understood the importance of treating people with respect and kindness. They said, “By treating [people] as though they were a family member” and “Most of all, treat like a family, always give good quality”. Staff told us how they treated people and their relatives with respect and ensured people’s dignity and privacy was protected. Staff described how they listened to and communicated with people appropriately and in a way they can understand, including using different and preferred means of communication.

Professionals were positive about the changes and improvements made since the new management team came in the service. They said, “[The manager] and all the staff at Dormy house have a positive and transparent attitude and the home has a positive feel” and “During my visit. All staff were kind, patient, engaging and appeared happy to be there. The activity coordinators were friendly and interacting with residents and could easily converse around the residents’ activity preferences and their likes and dislikes, they knew the people they were supporting

Throughout our visit, we observed kind and friendly interactions between the staff and people. Staff were kind, polite and caring while completing various activities with people. People’s privacy and dignity was respected. When required, staff supported people by closing the doors to give them privacy. We also observed staff treated each other respectfully and supported each other to carry out various tasks. Staff were helpful in answering our queries and the team supported and looked after each other, so they could work together to make positive changes.

People were treated as individuals with care and support provided to meet their individual needs, wishes and choices. One relative told us, “The care-plan review has just been done and I’m happy with it. [The staff] were even asking about things like my relative’s preferred toiletries. Little things like that make a big difference”. Another relative added, “I turn up unannounced, just like my family, and we have never witnessed anything that felt like concerns. I have only seen admirable behaviour and well-trained staff generally”.

The manager encouraged a positive and appropriate approach to people and their diverse needs. The manager and staff ensured people were treated as individuals and their care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences. The manager noted how they gathered all the detailed information about people such as their abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics, to ensure people received care and support tailored to their needs. Staff understood how to treat people as individuals, considering any of their personal, cultural, social and religious needs so they could support people the way they preferred. Staff demonstrated they knew the needs of the people, they supported them well and understood the importance of treating people as individuals.

We observed numerous interactions, and it was clear both people, relatives and the staff knew one another. People were referred to their preferred names and the staff were warm and friendly towards people and relatives. There was a calm atmosphere and people were supported at their own pace to carry on with their day. Where people needed additional support, staff provided it in a timely and kind manner.

Staff treated people with respect and as individuals, and provided care and support to meet their individual needs. People’s communication needs were assessed and met to enable them to engage in their care, treatment and support to maximise their experience and outcomes. This was endorsed from induction training throughout meetings to ensure staff understood how to engage and communicate with people.

People’s choices were respected and met, and staff encouraged people to remain independent and be in control of the care they received as much as possible. People told us, “I have my independence – I can do most things for myself. I do know [the staff] are around if I need any help with things and they are able to do this” and “I do mostly what I want to do. My [relative] is here a lot and we go out sometimes so I’m lucky”. One relative added, “Yes they do [encourage the person to be independent]. [The person] does art and charity fundraise…It was [staff] who found it and [this staff] is amazing. They arranged sing along and they had lovely atmosphere, and staff get involved and encourage people to get involved”.

The manager told us how they supported and promoted people’s independence, so they knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing whenever possible. The manager and staff supported people to maintain relationships that mattered to them, and they were welcomed into the service to spend time with people. The manager also noted they ensured people had protected meal times to have good food intake, but also supported relatives to have an enjoyable experience during meal times. The manager noted staff were also having meals with people, as this mirroring technique had positive effect on people’s food intake. The manager and staff worked together with activity coordinators to ensure people had access to activities and the local community to promote and support their independence, health and wellbeing.

People were encouraged and supported to be independent where possible. Staff were helping people with making choices, working together and involving them in day to day tasks. People were able to have visitors according to their wishes, and there were no restrictions place. People and relatives had different areas to use in the service for privacy if they wished so. The service was able to accommodate people’s and relatives’ wishes if they wanted to stay longer including overnight.

Care plans helped staff consider and support people’s independence to ensure people were in control of the care service they received. People were also able to use advocacy services should they need them. There was a range of appropriate equipment to support and maximise people’s independence and outcomes from care and treatment. Relatives were able to visit the service without any restrictions and get involved in life of the service together with their family members living at the service.

Staff considered people’s needs and comfort as a priority and they anticipated these to avoid any preventable discomfort, concern or distress. One person said, “I’d tell the nurse if I wasn’t happy with anything. They are very good here and I think they would listen”. One relative said, “What I witnessed, [the needs] have been managed as well as it could…We ring to check, and we get regular feedback. [Staff] are mindful of [person’s] comfort. We did not have any issues in last 6 months”.

The manager and the staff worked together to ensure people’s needs, views, wishes and comfort were a priority and staff were able to anticipate these to avoid any preventable discomfort, concern or distress. The manager encouraged staff to consider each person with their individual needs to provide what they needed. The manager said, “Part of my interview, I always ask [the staff] and give scenario [how they would respond to people]. Starting from knocking the door, waiting, considering what is the purpose of why I am here, assist the person, and anything else to ask, before leaving the room. Always to converse with the person. I always remind staff in our staff meetings when you do care, don’t talk over them and always involve them by explaining the procedures you are doing; give choices and constant reinforcement to the team, and I can see that the staff are doing it.” Staff were alert to people’s needs and took time to observe, communicate and engage people in discussions about their immediate needs. Staff understood how they would respond to people in the most appropriate way to respect their wishes.

We observed staff were regularly checking people and their needs and took time to communicate and engage people in discussions about their immediate needs. Staff were aware how to respond in the most appropriate way to respect people’s wishes. When we raised a few queries regarding people’s health and wellbeing, this was reviewed and responded to in a timely manner. Staff recognised quickly when people needed help or support and were able to use appropriate tools and technology to assist.

The manager told us how they continuously communicated with staff and shared any ideas or suggestion to ensure staff were included and were able to contribute to the service. The manager told us they wanted to ensure staff felt supported and appreciated. They said, “We celebrate the culture of our staff such as carers day celebration. We asked every culture to bring food and flags; people and families were there and it was good celebration. We also have Heart of Gold – a nomination for team members, who showed something to cover the 5 values of [the provider]… In my every day walkaround, if staff are doing something over and above, we do a card of appreciation…Yes, we also support our staff to support their own festivities and they can book this in advance”. Staff told us they were supported and felt valued by the service. They felt management team was accessible, knowledgeable, open, and supportive. Staff said, “My team gives a good quality of care” and “The new manager is giving everything to support us.”

There was a process in place to help the managers promote the wellbeing of their staff, and supported and enabled them to help perform and deliver person-centred care. Staff were supported if required and they had different ways to reach out to the management team. Staff had access to personalised support that recognised the diversity of a workforce. Staff were valued by their leaders and their colleagues. They had a sense of belonging and the ability to contribute to decision making.