The Highgate Care Home

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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 felt that staff were caring and those staff we spoke to demonstrated this. Staff were motivated by providing individualised, person centred care. They knew the people they cared for well. Care plans we viewed reflected this practice containing details of who people were, their preferences, likes and dislikes. People were involved in planning their care along with relatives/friends where appropriate. People felt they were listened to and that staff were responsive to their needs, communicating with them clearly.

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.

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.

Staff knew the people they were caring for on an individual level, they were aware of their needs and preferences, cultural background and history. People we spoke to reinforced this and felt they were cared for by people who really understood them. Care plans were person centred and included the preferences of each person as well as details of their personal/family life and interests, they gave a feel for who the person was in addition to their care needs. Although there is an activity coordinator in place, they expressed that uptake of activities was low. Increasing attendance was something being looked at by the activity and care home manager. One to one activities were available in peoples rooms if this was their need/preference. During our visit we found that no people were using communal areas for social use or during meal times. This was recognised by the manager who hoped to address this in work with the activity coordinator. The upcoming refurbishments may also help to encourage the use of these spaces.

We did not look at Independence, choice and control during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.

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.

Staff were given regular supervision sessions which included specific time to discuss wellbeing. Staff surveys were carried out with the results shared. 90% of staff took part in the most recent survey, with wellbeing scoring highly. Reasonable adjustments were made for those with protected characteristics where necessary. When we visited a pregnant member of staff was able to work from home, due to illness that made attending in person difficult. This was well communicated to their colleagues and meant they could continue in their role for longer than if those adjustments had not been made.

Supervision sessions with staff included focus on wellbeing as well as work specific discussions. Staff told us they felt well supported by senior leaders and able to raise issues without fear of it raising questions about their ability to carry out their role. Staff said they found management approachable and that they would be listened to and supported. Staff expressed confidence in raising concerns internally. “If I was concerned about the home I would use our “Speak up” procedure that BUPA have. I do think it works and I have used it in the past. I have no concerns about the service at the moment.” “I am very happy here. I feel supported and I do support other staff.”