Aster Grove Nursing Home

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

The overall rating for this key question is good. People were treated with kindness and compassion by staff who knew them well. Staff protected people’s dignity and afforded them the privacy they deserved. Staff received training in dignity and respect and practiced what they had learned. For example, staff spoke with people discreetly when needed. People were able to retain as much autonomy as possible; staff offered people choices and respected their decisions. Workforce well-being was important to the management team, staff were respected and were supported to integrate into the service and community.

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 and their relatives spoke highly of the staff and said they had a caring nature. A person told us, “I do feel cared for and looked after.”

Staff showed kindness and compassion to people when supporting them. Staff had undertaken training in respect and dignity and practised what they had learned. A staff member gave examples of how they maintained dignity for people and said, “When giving personal care, first we knock the door, when starting personal care, we put the blinds down to maintain their dignity then we will ask their consent about personal care. If anyone comes in we will cover the resident.”

Visiting health and social care professionals gave positive feedback about how staff treated people. Comments included, “I made a suggestion they understand communication and interaction training. They gobbled it up and utilised it, that’s when I saw major improvements, a greater understanding of people not giving a hard time but having a hard time.” Another professional said, “They demonstrate compassion about supporting residents that I have been involved with to offer their best care.”

Staff spoke with people discreetly when needed, for example, during medicine rounds, nurses spoke quietly with people when offering medicines and explaining what they were for. People had ‘do not disturb’ signs for when they were receiving support in their bedrooms, we saw these were used appropriately.

People were treated as individuals; staff gave choices but also knew people’s general preferences and personalities. A relative told us, “The majority of staff have been the same for the last 2 years, as a team they are great, they are nice and welcoming, they know my name and know [person] can be a pickle, they are a Jekyll and Hyde, they (staff) see the good side and bad side but they know and understand [person].”

Care staff described people’s needs accurately and knew who and what were important to people. A staff member told us, “It’s about understanding the residents and making sure they have what they want. For example, we have an Alexa as music preferences can be personal choice.”

We observed staff speaking with people, addressing them by their preferred names. People’s bedrooms were personalised, decorated in their preferred colours with photographs, pictures and shelves for their ornaments.

People’s care records were completed with them or their loved ones to ensure they were individually tailored to their needs and preferences. A member of staff was the service’s dignity champion, they ensured other staff were following the provider’s dignity policy.

People were supported to retain as much independence as possible. A relative described how their loved one required full assistance with all aspects of care, but staff offered choices so they had control over their lives. They told us, “[Person] can’t do much for themselves, I like [person] in the lounge but if [person] refuses they (staff) respect that.” A person told us, “I’m certain I can ask myself, but sometimes I forget.” Another relative told us about their loved one’s preferences and said, “[Person] gets the choice of where they want to be, sometimes they want to sleep in the lounge all night in the chair, this is the sort of thing they would do at home.”

Staff described how they promoted people’s autonomy by ensuring choices whilst supporting them. Staff told us how people’s abilities differed so they were guided by the person. A staff member told us, “Some residents are independent, they do their personal care alone, anything they need, we arrange for them like towels and shampoo and they will do alone.”

We saw various aids and adaptations to promote people’s independence. For example, there was a range of adapted crockery so people could eat and drink without assistance. Where people ate away from the dining room, sticky mats were placed on trays so plates would not slip when people were eating. Various equipment was available to help people move and position, these included stand-aids and hoists which meant here were choices for people based on how they were feeling on the day. People were not restricted, there was a passenger lift, however, some people were assessed to use the stairs, we saw a staff member discreetly observing a person using the stairs to offer support if needed.

People’s abilities and what they wanted to achieve was recorded in their care records, these were constantly reviewed to ensure they were current.

People’s needs were responded by staff to in a timely way. People and their relatives told us staff were available when they needed them and accommodated their wishes. A person said, “I do feel cared for and looked after.” Adaptive technology was utilised to enhance people’s experience. For example, people used Alexas to ask for the time and to listen to their favourite music. The registered manager had a projector where relatives could upload photographs, this meant people who were in bed were able to see photographs enlarged on the ceiling. A person who was unable to attend a family gathering was able to see photos of their loved ones.

Staff demonstrated the importance of responding to people’s immediate needs and anticipated what their needs may be. A staff member told us about how they ensured people’s needs were met despite potential communication barriers. They said, “Many of the residents need help as they have dementia and might not say what they want, we got to know them and understand their favourite things so we can offer choices.” Staff spoke about how people enjoyed the ‘magic table’ and other technology initiatives. One staff member commented, “They love the virtual reality headset.”

We observed people’s needs were met promptly by staff who knew them well. Staff answered call bells quickly and spent time with people on an individual basis. We saw group activities taking place in the lounge, which included a singer. People were engaged and appeared to enjoy the various games and entertainment. A visiting health care professional told us, “I do like the home, I would consider a relative to go there, I can trust them, they go to the nth degree to make it activity focussed and as interesting as possible.”

Staff were appreciated by management and felt valued. The registered manager appointed a member of the management team to oversee and supervise staff, staff said they felt supported which enabled them to complete their duties to the best of their abilities. A staff member told us, “I feel I am supported and respected.” Some staff were recruited from overseas, a staff member told us how they supported staff new to the country. They said, “I have helped some staff adapt to life in the UK. [Registered manager] said I can teach them about care in the UK, not just work related but in general. For example, one staff does not know how to open a bank account, I helped them with this.”

Processes were in place to support staff well-being. Staff were able to contact members of the management team and their mentors when needed. Staff were able to make suggestions both directly to management or anonymously by using the suggestion box if needed. Rotas were designed to support not only people’s needs but staff’s requirements, for example, when staff needed time off for religious or cultural reasons, their requests were accommodated.