McRae Lane

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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 by staff who were kind, caring and respected their right to privacy and to be treated with dignity. Staff provided care and support to people in line with their individual needs and preferences. People were supported to have choice and control over how their care and support was provided. People were supported to be as independent as possible. Staff were responsive and knew how to minimise risk of any discomfort or distress that people might experience. There were no restrictions placed on visitors to the service. People took part in a wide range of activities at the service and in the community which helped support their independence, health and wellbeing. Staff were well supported with their wellbeing because the home manager understood the impact this could have on the safety and quality of care and support provided to people.

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 were treated respectfully by staff and with kindness and compassion. A relative told us, “I think the staff are very caring. They look after people and [family member] is happy and safe there. I don’t have any worries about the place.” An advocate for people using the service said, “I would say now this is a proactive service that is able to meet complex needs for an ageing client group with sensitivity and care and kindness. I have seen them being very kind to people.”

Staff understood the importance of being kind and caring and treating people with compassion, dignity and respect. This was evident when they spoke about people they supported and how they helped people to meet their individual needs.

We contacted health and social care professionals that worked with the service for their views about how staff treated people, them and others, but we did not receive any feedback.

Staff were kind and caring in their interactions with people. They greeted people warmly and talked to people with respect. When people preferred privacy or time away on their own, staff made sure people could have this. When people became anxious, they were comforted and reassured with kindness and compassion.

People’s individual needs were well understood by staff. A relative told us, “I think the staff have a good understanding of [family member’s] needs. She’s always well turned out and looks well.” An advocate for people using the service said, “People get consistent care. People are non-verbal and staff really know what people need.”

Staff understood how to treat people as individuals and provide care and support in line with people’s needs and preferences. A staff member told us, “For me it’s all about the support plan and following this to provide individualised, person-centered care. If you don’t follow the plan you may do something that the person doesn’t want.”

Staff used people’s preferred method of communication to check with people how they would like their care and support to be provided. They observed people’s responses and used this to provide care and support in the way people preferred. Staff checked people were comfortable and happy with the care and support being provided and tailored this based on people’s responses. People appeared relaxed and comfortable when being supported by staff.

Systems were in place to ensure people’s individual needs were obtained, understood and met. The home manager undertook assessments, monitoring and reviews of people’s care and support needs, to make sure care plans reflected people’s individual needs and preferences. People’s care plans informed staff how people’s individual needs and preferences should be met when providing people with care and support.

Staff made sure people had choice and control about how they wished to receive care and support. They used people’s preferred method of communication to help them understand people’s choices which supported people to maintain control over how their care and support was provided. There were no restrictions placed on visitors to the home. An advocate for people using the service told us, “There’s never been any restrictions on me visiting. It’s an open door.” People undertook activities at the service and in the community which supported their independence, health and wellbeing. A relative said, “When I was talking to the staff last week they told me about the activities they were trying out. They went bowling one day and they took [family member] to a disco on another day. They are trying new things which is good for [family member]. She does like her own company and likes to listen to the radio in peace but she also likes to interact with people and I think she gets a good mix of that.”

Staff understood that people should be supported to have choice and control and make decisions about the care and support provided to them. A staff member told us, “You need to know people’s preferences which is in their care plan. You need to make sure you give variety when you are offering options.” Staff supported people to take part in a wide range of activities to support their independence, health and wellbeing. A staff member told us, “You observe what people enjoy doing and then we plan activities that interest people. A lot of times it’s a lot of going to places and trying new things. [Person using the service] doesn’t like a lot of activities where there are other people but yesterday we went bowling and we talked through the activity and she was so calm and she really got involved and enjoyed this.”

Staff offered people choice about how they would like their care and support provided. Staff were observant to people’s responses to understand what people’s choices and preferences were, which helped people maintain control over how their care and support was provided.

Systems were in place to ensure people’s choices and decisions informed how their care and support should be provided. The home manager undertook assessments, monitoring and reviews of people’s care and support needs, and used information about people’s likes and dislikes, their preferred routines and how they wished to spend their day, to plan people’s care and support. People’s care records instructed staff, when providing care and support, to seek people’s consent, offer choice and support people to do as much as they could and wanted to do for themselves.

People were supported by staff who understood their needs and preferences and knew how to minimise risk of any discomfort or distress they might experience.

Staff understood how people should be supported in line with their needs and preferences. They were able to explain the strategies they followed on how to do this so that discomfort or distress to people was minimised. A staff member told us, “You need to be patient and give people time and we follow the positive behaviour support plan.”

Staff were vigilant and checked on people at regular intervals to ensure they were comfortable and engaged in activities which were in line with their preferences and supporting their wellbeing.

Staff felt well supported and valued by the home manager. The home manager was supportive of staff and understood the importance of their wellbeing on the delivery of care and support to people. The home manager signposted staff on to provider led initiatives to support their wellbeing, when they felt staff might benefit from additional help. They told us, “We have a programme which is for all staff to access and we can signpost staff there if they need support with personal issues. I encourage staff to talk to me about personal issues that may be impacting them at work and talk about what we can do to reduce pressure and stress.”

The provider encouraged a culture at the service where staff wellbeing was promoted, to support staff to deliver safe, high quality care to people. Staff were provided opportunities through supervision to discuss their roles and the support they required to help them undertake their roles effectively. Staff had access to the employee assistance programme which they could contact at any time for confidential advice about personal or work issues that may be impacting their work performance and wellbeing. The provider also ran a ‘talking service’ that were online sessions on a range of topics designed to provide support for challenges staff maybe facing that maybe impacting on their wellbeing, for example, the menopause or hidden disabilities.