Shoemaker Place

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 treated people with kindness and compassion. People were treated as individuals. People were in control of the support they received as much as possible. Staff responded to people’s needs in a timely way. While there were systems in place to support staff including 1-1 and team meetings, these were not always effective as learning from when things went wrong had not always been shared with the staff team.

This service scored 70 (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 with kindness and compassion. On person told us, “Staff treat us with respect and listen to us.” Another person told us, “Staff are lovely and kind and ask me what I can do for myself.” One relative told us, “Staff are very caring and treat my [relative] with kindness and respect.”

Staff told us they treat people with kindness and compassion. One staff member told us, “People are well cared for. Staff are very caring and go out of their way to meet people’s needs.” Another staff member told us, I like to talk with people and provide reassurance. I asked them how they would like to be care for and help them when they need it.”

Professionals supporting people living at Shoemaker Place told us people were treated with kindness and compassion. One professional told us, “The environment always seems calm and pleasant when I have visited the home and residents are treated with dignity.” Another professional told us, “Care staff treat residents well in the home.”

We saw staff treating people with kindness and compassion. Where one person appeared anxious and required assistance with their mobility, a staff member reassured them by talking about things which are important to them and explained each step of how they were assisting them. Where one person had changed their mind about what they wanted to eat, a staff member spoke to them with kindness and offered an alternative which the person appreciated.

People told us they were treated as individuals. One person told us, “Staff respect my preferences and talk to me about in advance about what I would like to do and I would like to be assisted. Another person told us, “Staff know my likes and dislikes and I can choose when to get up and go to bed.” Another person told us, “I can have a drink anytime and sit where I like.”

Staff were able to tell us about the people they were caring for. They knew them well and spoke positively about them and how to support them. One staff member told us, “People are able to take part in activities of their choosing.” Another staff member told us, “People are able to choose ahead of time what they would like to eat off the menu. If they change their minds, we can offer and alternative.”

We observed staff spending time with people and asking about them. There was a relaxed atmosphere and people were offered refreshments which reflected their preferences. Where one person became anxious about an upcoming visit, a staff member was able to reassure them by talking about what job they did before retirement.

People were treated as individuals. Where people could make their own decisions about their personal care, this was reflected in their daily records. People’s care plans included information about their cultural, social and religious needs and their communication preferences. The provider showed televised church services on a Sunday to enable people to observe their religious beliefs.

People told us they had independence, choice and control. Staff supported people where needed and encouraged them to be independent where possible. One person told us, “Staff assist me with some parts of personal care and encourage me to do other things I am able to do for myself.” Another person told us, “I do like to sit out in the garden, and I go out with my family when I want.”

Staff respected people’s choices and encouraged people to participate in individual and group activities. A staff member told us, “We have been trying to involve all our residents in activities and have recently been able to show sports events on the cinema screen which proved popular. We are looking into acquiring transport so we can support more people to participate in activities in the community.”

People had independence, choice and control over their daily lives. We observed an activity coordinator working across both floors providing reminiscence therapy relating to food packaging from the past and flower arranging. People were completing word searches and puzzles. Where one person wanted to see their family pet this was facilitated by the provider by allowing the pet to access with their relative.

People were in control of the support they received as much as possible. For example, when staff were providing support to people, they spoke to people first letting people know what they were planning to do and seeking consent before acting. People were offered choices through lunch such as where they wanted to sit and what they wanted to eat and drink. Care plans reflected people’s preferences and the decisions people had made. The provider employed staff who planned, facilitated and coordinated social events and activities. These were designed to reflect people's interests and individual needs. People were able to participate in a range of individual and group activities including crosswords, cinema, physical and mental aerobics, quizzes and music events. Where required people had access to specialist equipment to support them with their care needs and to maximise their independence.

People gave mixed feedback about how staff responded to their immediate needs. One person told us, “I pulled the cord once when I fell in my room and staff came to assist me straight away.” Another person told us, “I told staff about a medical issue however I’ve been waiting a while and I’m not sure if staff have requested a doctor yet.”

Staff told us they responded quickly to people’s immediate needs. One staff member told us, “If someone becomes unwell, I escalate to a senior carer who rings GP or the crisis team.

We observed staff responding to people’s needs in a timely way. For example where one person requested support with going back to their room, the staff member responded straight away providing guidance and reassurance. Where one person requested a specific drink which was not available on the upstairs unit, a staff member ensured the drink was brought upstairs the person and others to have.

Staff felt they had not always been well supported by the management team but were hopeful things would improve under the new management team. One staff member told us, “Staff morale has not been good and management have been quite negative towards staff in the past. Managers need to spend time on the floor and ensure staff are following good practice.” Another staff member told us, “Staff morale is not good with the constant management change.” Another staff member told us, “I would feel confident now raising issues with the new management team.” A new manager had started in post the day before our inspection. They had started to get to know staff and were aware improvements were required in the quality of care provided.

While there were systems in place to support staff including 1-1 and team meetings, these were not always effective as learning from when things went wrong had not always been shared with the staff team. While staff told us they were very busy and there were not always enough staff in the busier periods, we found there were enough staff and the management team had responded to staff feedback by trialling an extra staff member to support with the busy morning periods to assist people to get up.