Ridgemount

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

People told us they were supported staff who were kind and considerate to them and who encouraged their independence and freedom of choice. Staff supported people in a way which respected people’s choices and preferences. Staff’s wellbeing was supported by the provider and management team to enable them to effectively provide person centred care to people. Systems and processes were in place to support people’s professional development and their well-being. Staff were provided with opportunities to feedback about their roles.

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 that staff were kind and considerate. One family member said, “They are all brilliant with [service user].” Others said, “My family think the staff are lovely and they get on well with them,” and “They seem to be happy, I’ve never heard any moaning. They’ve always got a smile on their face.” People also told us they felt treated with respect, “Oh yes, definitely. I do everything myself, choose my clothes, shower myself, which they respect.” Family members commented on how staff treated their relative with dignity and respect, “[Person] always has clean clothes on and their dentures are kept clean and good.”

Members of staff told us it was important to them that people were treated with kindness and their dignity was respected. One told us, “I learnt from experience here and just generally in life to treat people well and how you would like to be treated,” and “I make sure people are always comfortable, especially when I am helping them wash or change. This protects their dignity.” Others said, “Some residents like to tease the staff, we have lots of laughs together,” and “We understand how people are meant to be treated. If anyone deviates from this, they would be called aside to speak to the manager.”

We received feedback from allied healthcare professionals which confirmed they observed staff to be kind and respectful of people’s dignity.

We observed many moments of staff being kind and compassionate to service users to ensure people’s dignity was respected. On one occasion, when a service user believed they were just visiting, they asked a member of staff if they could stay for lunch. The member of staff told them they would be most welcome and suggested they sit together and read a book until lunch was ready, which they did. On another occasion, we saw a member quickly and discreetly intervene when they saw that a service user was getting upset and so was able to distract them and avoid them becoming distressed.

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 and their relatives told us staff respected people’s choices, helped them to feel in control of their support and to build their independence. One person told us staff supported them to be as independent as possible, “They know what I like and respect that. I like to be independent and do things myself. Things I can’t do like washing, they do; otherwise, I am left to my own devices.” People told us they had access to activities, “I’ve been to one [activity] this morning and it was fun, lots of fun. I want to get in the long grass the other side of the building, it’s beautiful, I love it,” and “If I want to [engage in and activity], I can. I also like to do my colourings or watch the television in my room.” However, 50% of responses in the November 2023 resident and relative survey results said they felt they did not get into the garden often enough. We had a conversation on the day of assessment with a member of the senior leadership team. They acknowledged that the garden to the rear of the building was overgrown, and gave assurances that this was on the maintenance plan and would be rectified as soon as possible.

Staff told us how they offered choice to people in different ways, depending on the person and the choice to be made. One told us, “[Service user] is very independent but when they need help they ring the bell.” and “During personal care, we ask people what clothes they would like to wear or if they are unable to choose, show them different choices.” Others said, “We ask people to choose what activities they want to join in, what music they want to listen to, what films they want to watch” and “We give people choices, when its mealtimes we plate up 3 options and give them a visual choice.”

We observed staff encouraging people to do as much as possible for themselves, all the time ensuring their safety. For example, assisting a person to walk to an appointed destination point. The member of staff explained to us that this was part of their mobility programme.

The provider did not place any restrictions on visiting times and operated an open door policy. People and their family members were actively encouraged to engage with all staff, including members of the senior leadership team.

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.

Inspectors received positive feedback about the support that management and the provider give them to carry out their role safely and effectively. The provider had clearly defined policies in place to support inclusion and wellbeing. Staff had regular opportunities to feedback and raise concerns. People were supported by staff who were able to provide their own views and feedback about the support they gave. Monthly staff meetings were held, and feedback from staff we spoke with was positive about how their views were taken on board and acted upon when raised. Staff engagement surveys were completed which allowed staff to feedback about their own support from the provider.

People were supported by staff who were able to provide their own views and feedback about the support they gave. Regular staff meetings were held. Overall feedback from staff we spoke to was positive about how their views were taken on board and acted upon when raised. Staff engagement surveys were completed that allowed staff to feedback about their own support from the provider. Staff's wellbeing was promoted and supported by the manager and deputy manager, as well as provider led policies. Ridgemount was not experiencing a higher than usual staff turnover and the provider recently ran a successful recruitment ‘roadshow’ which attracted new applicants.