Margaret Thatcher Infirmary

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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

People were supported to have choice and control over their care and to make their own decisions regarding their care, treatment and wellbeing. People were supported to understand their rights by using different ways to communicate. People were supported to maintain relationships and networks that were important to them. People had access to their friends and family while they were using the service. People had access to activities and the local community, which helped promote and support their independence, health and wellbeing. There was a range of appropriate equipment to help maximise people’s independence.

This service scored 95 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We did not look at Kindness, compassion and dignity during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

We did not look at Treating people as individuals during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

People told us they had chosen to live in Margaret Thatcher Infirmary and were proud to be doing so. People said they understood that, due to the unique and prestigious military environment, there were certain lifestyle boundaries and expectations, such as ‘dress codes’, which they had willingly signed up to. People also told us they liked continuing the camaraderie they had experienced during their military careers, with everyone looking out for each other. People said staff were friendly, supportive, and caring. They spoke very positively about their experiences and were complimentary about how staff treated them. One person told us, “Magic, I’ve made loads of friends, and the staff are excellent. The best posting I’ve ever had” Another person added, “So lucky to have a place like this. The staff are wonderful.” A further person said, “This is my home, I couldn’t ask for anything better. Staff are a tonic, and every one of them makes a difference.”

Staff we spoke with knew the importance of being aware of and respecting people’s views and choices. Staff told us they were very familiar with people’s routines and preferences, which meant the care they provided was focussed on each person as an individual. Staff confirmed that people were supported to make choices and decisions and maintain their independence as much as possible. The Nominated Individual provided us with information that explained the different ways in which people’s personal communication needs were supported. For example, one person communicated via written messages, whilst another communicated with a range of hand signals. Where people had difficulties with speech, they were encouraged to express themselves by using other means, such as selecting and pointing to cards with pictures and words. Audio versions of information were also provided, such as the ‘Weekly Bulletin’.

We observed people were constantly encouraged and supported to express their views regarding the way they received care and support, as well as anything else they wished for. We saw there were ample menu choices and alternatives for people. Where needed, people were assisted with eating and drinking or provided with adapted cutlery and crockery to help enable them to do this independently. We saw specialist equipment was available and well maintained, such as wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and hoists. These also helped people to maintain their independence. We saw people were supported to avoid social isolation by being encouraged to join in with group activities. The visitor’s policy stated visitors were welcome at any reasonable time, with the agreement of people living in the home. Cadet recruits visited regularly and built bonds with the retired soldiers. People’s friends and family were also encouraged to visit and made very welcome. We observed a group of friends visiting a person and saw they were provided with a private dining area. We saw that information was provided in a wide range of ways, depending on what was the most effective for each individual. Some examples included objects, pictures, large print and audio.

Care plans reflected an enabling approach. They clearly described people's dependency levels and explained what people were able to do, or wished to do, for themselves, as well as detailing the tasks people needed staff to support them with. Care plans also described people’s communication needs and information was provided to people in formats they could understand.

We did not look at Responding to people’s immediate needs during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

We did not look at Workforce wellbeing and enablement during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.