St James' Park Care 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.  At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care. 

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.

The service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. Staff spoke fondly of people who lived at the home. One staff member told us, “I ensure residents feel valued and respected. One resident I support enjoys gardening but has limited mobility. To make their day more enjoyable, I help them plant flowers in pots that can be reached from their wheelchair.” People told us they were well cared for, by staff they liked. They said, “I would recommend this as a good place to live as the staff are caring, helpful and kind.”

The service treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. A member of staff told us, “I treat residents as individuals, I consider their needs, wishes, likes, dislikes. One of the residents does not like wearing trousers. I noticed that this was not added in their care plan and added this immediately. This means any new staff now have this information and it has made the residents life a bit easier as they do not need to explain.” Staff supported people to gain confidence. One person had not wanted to take part in activities and was at risk of self-isolation. Staff spoke with the person to find out their previous hobbies and found the person enjoyed playing dominoes. Staff arranged for the person to take part in routine domino games with other residents and this encouraged the person to spend more time engaging with others outside their own room. We spoke to the person who told us, “I enjoy domino's very much, it has made me feel very well and I’ve spent more time out of my room. It’s a good place to live here, the staff are really nice, and I feel safe.” Another person expressed a wish to spend time looking at farming machinery as they used to work on a farm. Staff organised a trip at a local Tractor Centre where the person was greeted by staff who gave them a private tour. The person was very happy as the staff had recognised them from the days they once worked there and thoroughly enjoyed the day out reminiscing about their experiences on the farm.

The service promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Staff understood and respected people’s individual needs. Staff placed great importance on supporting people’s independence. One staff member said, “I looked after a resident who used to love their cups of tea. I suggested that they had a kettle in their room for their own tea, their face just lit up! It was amazing. I risk assessed this and discussed it with their family. They were so happy, and the resident is now making their own drinks.”

The service listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff respond to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. We observed staff and managers knew people well and responded quickly to any requests for support. People told us staff were responsive. One person said, “If I ever need to use my call bell staff come really quickly.”

The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff told us they enjoyed working at the home and found the provider and registered manager to be supportive. They said, “We have access to the providers online platform, which is very well structured, I can ask help 24/7 if needed. I am very proud and happy to work for St James’ Park Care Home. I feel valued and supported in my job role and I couldn't be happier to work here, it drives my motivation to give my best every day.”