Galsworthy House Nursing Home

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 were treated well by staff. Staff were kind, caring and respected people’s rights to privacy and to be treated with dignity. Staff provided care and support to people that met their individual needs and preferences. People had choice and control about how they wanted to receive care and support from staff. They were encouraged to do as much as they could for themselves, to maintain their independence. People’s friends and families could visit them with no restrictions. People were encouraged to take part in activities to support their independence, health and wellbeing.

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 supported by staff who were kind, caring and compassionate. People spoke highly of the care and support they received from staff. One person told us, “The staff treat me well. There is total respect. They are caring, compassionate and willing to listen. They ask about me and how I am and how I am doing. The staff have empathy for you and understand what I’m going through.” Another person said, “I’ve been here a year. I think it’s excellent. People care. I don’t have to think about things too much. The staff are kind and compassionate.” Another person told us, “The staff are lovely…I was so upset the other day and [staff member] was very comforting.” Relatives told us staff treated people well. A relative said, “They are absolutely fantastic. They have got to know [family member] well and she gets lots of hugs and cuddles. [Family member] was given a birthday party and it was absolutely amazing. Fabulous cake, loads of guests, everything you could think of and [family member] loved it.” Another relative told us, “[Family member] has come on a lot since coming here. She is totally reliant on the staff to do everything for her. It’s been hard for me to have [family member] here but I know it’s the best place she could possibly be. They take time and care and it’s all about [family member]. They do look after her very well.”

Staff understood the importance of being kind and caring and treating people with compassion, dignity and respect. A staff member told us, “I support people emotionally and try to understand their problems and try and help them however I can. They are like your family and you are there to support them and raise any concerns they have with managers.” The home manager undertook checks to seek assurances that people were treated with kindness and compassion by staff. They told us, “These are my personal values and I am passionate about these…I am observing staff all the time and the way they talk to people. My daily walkarounds are important as they help me see what staff are doing and delivering and I can check if this is in line with our values. I get people’s feedback and find out what they think and this helps me understand what they are experiencing.”

Health and social care professionals felt staff treated people with kindness, compassion and dignity. They said staff were knowledgeable about people’s needs and respected their individual differences. Comments we received included, “[Staff] are kind and courteous towards all the residents and their families.” “We find the staff we communicate with knowledgeable and helpful. From my own experience, I always found that there was staff available to assist with my queries and provide me with information I needed to carry out my assessments successfully, all for the benefit of their patients.” “I have always found that staff treated their residents as individuals and communicated with them according to their individual needs, which is always nice to see that they acknowledge diversity of their residents.”

Staff were kind and caring in their interactions with people. They greeted people warmly and cheerfully and talked to people with respect, listening to what people had to say. When people wanted privacy or time away on their own, staff made sure people could have this. When people became concerned or distressed, they were comforted and reassured with kindness and compassion.

People received care and support that met their individual needs and preferences. One person told us, “They care about my personal appearance and I get to choose my clothes. I tell the staff what I want and they listen to me and respect me.” A relative said, “They really know [family member’s] preferences, and are always popping in with cups of tea and biscuits or cake in the afternoons.” Another relative told us, “They have got to know [family member] very well and know what she likes and dislikes.” Another relative said, “[Family member] came here from hospital and was in a terrible state. I would say I am very happy and things have changed round because the carers all know her and know all about her and all her intricacies. They know when to feed her and when to give her breaks.” People’s communication needs were met which enabled people to engage with staff about how they wished for their care and support needs to be met. A relative told us, “[Family member] has problems with language and we have developed her own which the staff have learnt and can communicate with her.”

Staff understood how people’s individual needs and preferences should be met. Staff told us the care and support they provided was tailored to meet people’s individual needs. They respected people’s choices about how they would like this provided, for example, if people wanted to receive care from a male or female carer or if people had specific dietary preferences due to their religious beliefs. People’s personal, cultural, social and religious needs were understood and met. A staff member told us, “You need to respect people’s cultural and religious preferences. Yesterday was Eid and some people are Muslim here so this was important to acknowledge and celebrate this. We had the chef make them something special yesterday.” The staff member said they also supported one person to pray, to observe this important religious event.

Staff provided care and support to people based on their individual needs. Staff asked people how they would like their care and support to be provided, listened to people and respected their choices about this. Staff checked with people that they were comfortable and happy with the care and support being provided and tailored this based on people’s views and preferences. People appeared relaxed and comfortable and expressed their satisfaction to staff for how they were looked after.

Systems were in place to ensure people’s individual needs and preferences informed how their care and support should be provided. Senior staff undertook regular assessment, monitoring and reviews of people’s care and support needs, to make sure people’s care records reflected people’s individual needs and preferences for this. People’s care records were current and instructed staff how people’s individual needs and preferences should be met when providing people with care and support.

People had choice and control about how they wanted to receive care and support from staff. One person said, “I can advocate for myself and have no problems asking for what I want.” Another person told us, “I do get a say in what I want. There is dialogue between me and the senior carers about medication etc and I like that aspect of it, as they explain things and I’m involved.” Relatives told us they were involved in their family member’s care and support and this meant they could advocate for them to make sure their preferences reflected how their care and support was provided. People were encouraged and supported to do as much as they could for themselves, to maintain their independence. One person told us they had been supported to purchase and use a mobility scooter to enable them to travel independently in the community. They said, “I have just been out on my electric scooter. [Staff members] have been fantastic and fixed up a charging system and have spent time to get this up and running.” People’s family and friends were free to visit when they wished. There were no restrictions placed on when they could come. One person told us, “I do have visitors but I have opted not to see friends as I don’t feel up to it. There are no visiting restrictions. Staff would look after them and give them tea and biscuits.” A relative said, “[Family member] has 3 sons and 5 grandchildren and one of us is in most days, with no restriction.” People undertook activities at the service and in the community which supported their independence, health and wellbeing. A relative told us, “[Family member] loves being in the garden best so it is only bad weather that stops her. She is always offered the opportunity to join in other things too.” Another relative said, “[Family member] likes interactive games like bingo and singalong, in fact they could do with more of those.”

Staff understood that people should be supported to have choice and control and make decisions about how their care was provided. They made sure people could be as independent as possible and respected their rights. Staff understood the importance to people of maintaining contact with family and friends and made visitors welcome at the home when they came to visit people using the service. The home manager told us a vehicle was now available to the service that would be used to take people out in the community on trips and social visits to enhance their wellbeing.

Staff offered people choice about how they would like their care and support provided. People were encouraged to state their preferences and staff respected their choices, which helped people maintain control over how their care and support was provided. For example, when people were getting ready for the day, people could choose when they woke up, had breakfast and the clothes they would like to wear. At mealtimes people were asked how they would like their meal and their drink of choice to accompany this.

Systems were in place to ensure people’s choices and decisions informed how their care and support should be provided. Senior staff undertook regular assessment, monitoring and reviews of people’s care and support needs, to make sure people’s care records reflected their 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 were current and 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.

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.

We did not look at Workforce wellbeing and enablement during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Caring.