Blakesley House 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

Staff did not always receive support with their wellbeing. Some practices placed staff at risk. However, most staff told us they were happy and felt well supported. People using the service were not always able to make choices. However, they were also happy and liked living at the service. People were treated with respect and kindness. They liked the staff and had good relationships with them. Staff responded to people's immediate needs and were attentive.

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 treated with kindness and respect. Their comments included, ''They treat me well and I am safe'', ''They are respectful, and I can have a laugh with them'', ''They are all very kind and really cannot do enough'' and ''They are very nice to me; very caring.'' Visitors confirmed what people had told us, with 1 relative commenting, ''The carers really care about the patients, they are loving and affectionate. They know [person] well and they make a tremendous effort for each person.''

Staff spoke positively about and to the people using the service.

The local authority recently carried out an assessment of the service. They found staff were ''caring and engaged well'' with people.

Staff administered medicines to people whilst they were eating their lunch. For most people, they did not need to take their medicines whilst they were eating, and this was an unnecessary intrusion. We discussed this with the manager who agreed to change this practice. Staff were kind and supportive towards people. They spoke with them politely and used their preferred names and pronouns. People were not rushed, and staff respected their wishes.

People told us they were treated as individuals. One visitor told us, ''[Person] is very happy and settled here. This feels like home.''

The staff gave people individual support. They told us about the people they cared for and knew them and their needs.

Staff were attentive to people they were supporting.

People's needs were recorded in care plans. The care plans gave staff good basic information about people's needs and included choices, preferences and people's known likes and dislikes. Care plans were regularly reviewed and updated.

People told us they were able to make some choices. These included when they got up and went to bed and where they spent their time in the house. However, some choices were restricted by problems within the environment, including the lift being broken. People also told us they were not always offered a choice of food at mealtime or where to sit. A relative explained that the person was supported to listen to music of their choice and access entertainment they wanted. People told us they were able to participate in some activities they liked, especially listening to music and watching television. One person commented, ''I like being with people and sitting downstairs with the others, but I am not sure if we are allowed to go out.'' Another person told us they would like to see entertainers visiting.

The activities coordinator told us they organised a range of different activities which reflected people's likes and interests. They were able to describe people's individual interests.

During our inspection, we observed some people being supported to participate in a group activity in the morning. There were also opportunities for people to engage individually with staff. However, some people who were not in the lounge were not provided with alternatives to the television or music. Additionally, the television remained on in the lounge during other activities. People were not given a choice about where they wanted to sit for lunch and were served dinner where they were seated or in bed.

Care plans included information about people's known preferences and choices. Staff were aware of these.

People told us the staff were attentive and assisted them when they needed help.

Staff told us they knew how to recognise signs of distress and felt they were able to respond to these.

Staff provided support when people needed it.

Most staff told us they felt supported.

There was limited evidence of formal systems to support staff wellbeing. Staff took part in supervision and team meetings. But these focused on the systems and processes at the service rather than individual wellbeing. The practice of organising for staff to work excessively long shifts did not consider their comfort, safety or wellbeing.