The Park Residential and Nursing Home

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

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the service involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. We saw staff and people shared warm and kind interactions with one another. Staff were able to respond to people’s immediate needs to promote their dignity, and people were treated as individuals with their independence promoted. Steps were taken to promote an inclusive living and working environment and steps taken to support staff well-being.

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 told us they were happy with the staff that cared for them. One person told us, “The carers aren’t snappy or abrupt, they’ve all got nice [temperaments] and they’ve got to know me well.” Another person said, “They are all nice and polite and will do anything for you.” Another person told us that staff had checked on them regularly when they did not feel well and they thought this was very kind.

Staff gave examples of how they promoted people’s dignity in their roles. This included closing doors when carrying out personal care, knocking on doors before entering and talking to people while they provided them with care. Staff spoke about their roles and people warmly, demonstrating kindness and compassion.

Partners fed back that people were treated with respect and positive interactions between staff and people had been observed by them. Feedback included that staff supported people with their emotional needs and these are planned for and appropriate professionals involved as and when needed.

The SOFI showed genuine warmth and kind interactions between staff and people. People's dignity was promoted. This included staff supporting people to wear clothing protectors and to use adaptive aids during mealtimes. Staff were observed to treat people with kindness. Staff were mindful of people’s dignity when supporting them. For example, staff provided aprons at mealtimes to protect clothing.

People felt staff supported them as individuals and gave examples of how they enjoyed pursuing their individual choices. For example, one person told us they enjoyed having their friend visit them each week and they would have trips out together. Other people told us they enjoyed spending time in the garden or sitting with their friends. Another person told us staff had helped to arrange their bedroom in a layout that suited them.

The provider had taken steps to help ensure a welcoming, diverse and inclusive community at the home. Leaders had provided support and training for staff teams on equality, diversity and human rights and the rights of people with protected characteristics. Methods were used to communicate with people whose language was not English, this included access to a translator service. Staff we spoke with knew people well and were able to tell us about people’s specific needs, likes and history.

The SOFI showed staff understood people's needs and communicated with them appropriately. We observed banter and humour used appropriately which people responded positively to. Staff encouraged friendships. Staff knew people well. People were supported to sit with friends at mealtimes or take their meals to their rooms if they wished. People were told they could change their mind or request different meals at lunch if they did not like what was on offer. Around the service we saw there were appropriate activities for people to take part in. The service showed support for diverse and inclusive communities and information on this was available on noticeboards around the service.

People’s care plans detailed how they liked to be supported. For example, times they liked to wake up, or how they wished to spend their day. The provider took steps to create a home environment that valued equality and diversity.

People told us they felt they maintained their independence and control. One person told us how they preferred to maintain their own personal care. Another person told us they were invited to join in with group activities however, they preferred to practise their own exercises daily. People’s independence was promoted.

A range of activities were available for people if they wanted to participate in these. Two members of staff co-ordinated these activities. People were supported to access the community and maintain friendships. For example, 1 person was supported to have lunch with friends at the local pub. Leaders told us, when they considered activities for people, they took into consideration the type of person they are. They said, "It's not just about what activities they want to do, it's who they are as a person, do they prefer their own company etc." Staff promoted independence where possible. Staff were able to tell us about specific people’s support needs and how they empowered people to be independent and make choices. For example, one person made their own breakfast, another person spent their time gardening.

The SOFI showed one occasion where people were not given a choice, this was regarding the radio station being put on. However, overall, we found staff supported people to make choices wherever possible. Overall people were given a choice of their meals, and these choices were presented to them in an accessible way. For example, people were shown plated up meals so they could visually see what the meal they were choosing would look like. People were observed to maintain their independence as much as possible and observed to make their own choices about how they wanted to spend their days. This included spending time with other people or going out into the community.

People’s care plans detailed how they liked to be supported. For example, times they liked to wake up, or how they wished to spend their day. A variety of activities were coordinated by staff to support people’s interests, hobbies and well-being. Resources had been made available to support this. Links to the local community and how people’s connections to their local community could be maintained were explored and supported. These had included inter-generational work, maintaining numeracy skills as well as fitness and health promotion work.

People felt staff responded well to any immediate needs they may have. People gave examples of when they had used their call bell to request staff help and this had been provided in a timely manner. A relative told us how staff had identified changes in their family member and sought medical attention. This helped ensure people’s changing needs were met.

Staff demonstrated an understanding of equality, diversity and human rights and the different needs, backgrounds and cultures of people using the service. This included communicating with people where English was not their first language, or where people had different communication needs.

The SOFI showed us staff were quick to respond to people's immediate needs. This included providing support to maintain people’s dignity. Staff were present in the dining room to attend to people's immediate needs. This included providing drinks, condiments or supporting people to eat their meals. Staff were observant and attended to people quickly and discreetly.

All staff we spoke with fed back positively about the support they received in their role, particularly from the registered manager but also the policies and procedures the provider had in place which supported their wellbeing. One staff member told us the provider had supported them in a new role and this had made them feel valued. One staff explained they required additional support to complete their training, and this was accommodated by the provider. Another said they were supported to change roles following a change in their circumstances. Both said they felt valued and supported by the provider.

Processes were in place to support staff well-being. Leaders had provided support to staff in understanding equality, diversity and human rights. This included putting in place individual ‘wellbeing’ action plans to support staff with any specific needs. In addition, volunteers were supported to be involved at the service. Leaders told us these actions had helped to improve staff retention in the service. The provider had policies in place to support staff well-being such as flexible working and regular staff meetings, supervision, training and appraisal. Staff had access to a ‘staff handbook’ that detailed their rights as well as how to access an ‘employee advice service’ for emotional and legal support. Staff could access their planned work shifts on via technology. Leaders told us this helped staff plan around their personal life. Staff had access to a training room and a refurbished staff room to help staff have a supportive environment to take breaks in when at work. The provider had taken steps to promote and support staff well-being.