Sterling House

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

The people who used the service were treated with kindness and respect. They were treated as individuals and encouraged to remain independent. Staff worked compassionately, maintained people’s dignity and supported them to make their own choices and decisions. Staff worked to ensure people’s immediate needs were addressed and they spoke encouragingly and thoughtfully about the people they supported. Staff told us they felt part of a caring and supportive 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.

The people who used the service told us staff treated them appropriately and their relatives agreed. One relative told us, ‘Staff genuinely care about the residents.’ Staff spoke positively and respectfully about the people they supported, and told us they had time to provide patient, dignified and measured care that met people’s individual needs. We saw kind and warm interactions between staff and the people who used the service. We saw staff seek consent to support people, encourage independence and provide encouragement to people. For example, we saw a staff member appropriately encourage and praise a person. We saw that care plans and associated records used appropriate and respectful language and considered people’s dignity.

People were treated as individuals with care and support planned and delivered to meet their individual needs, wishes and choices. The relatives we spoke with confirmed this. One relative told us how the service adapted to meet their family member’s individual needs. They said, ‘I believe the residents have a degree of freedom within the confines of what needs to be done to keep them safe.’ Staff agreed they had time to provide person-centred care that supported people to be individuals, and they demonstrated they knew people’s needs well. One staff member told us, ‘It’s a lovely home, an intimate home. We always have time to sit and chat with people and get to know them really well.’ Our observations confirmed this. We saw from care plans that people’s needs had been assessed on an individual basis whilst considering their strengths and abilities. Daily notes confirmed care was delivered as planned and that staff respected people’s choices.

People’s choices were respected and met, and staff encouraged people to remain independent and be in control of the care and support they received. The relatives we spoke with, and our observations, confirmed this. One relative said, ‘Staff are very good at trying to keep [family member] mobile. [Family member] would happily be wheeled around everywhere but staff encourage them to keep on their legs.’ However, some relatives raised concerns about the lack of support to engage with the local community and activities outside of the home and our evidence confirmed this. The manager did, however, have plans in place to address this identified shortfall. We saw that people were involved in decisions about their care and that their independence was considered. Care plans were completed in a manner that put people in control of the care service they received. Although people were provided with a service user guide on the service, this lacked information, including in relation to advocacy services and how the service would support people with independent living, choice and control, and required further development.

The relatives we spoke with told us the service was proactive and prompt in meeting their family member’s needs, including in relation to their health and wellbeing. The care records we viewed, and our observations, confirmed this. For example, we saw a staff member anticipate what one person who used the service required to remain safe but independent and provided appropriate support in response. Care records also demonstrated the service took appropriate and prompt action when people required extra support.

Staff told us they felt happy at work and were given the resources to provide person-centred care. They told us they received formal and informal support, as they needed it, that made them feel supported in their role. One staff member said, ‘I have found Sterling House a really nice place to work. The new manager has just come in and is really helpful and receptive.’ Another staff member told us, ‘I have found [new manager] the most professional manager I have seen. They know exactly what to ask and I feel very involved.’ We saw that the service had systems in place to support staff wellbeing and enablement. This included regular supervisions, training, and seeking information on staff’s health to make any adjustments as required. Staff attended meetings and these were used as opportunities to reflect on incidents to help improve the service and the staff’s abilities, and as training sessions to ensure staff knowledge of a particular subject. Staff competency was also assessed on a regular basis.