Residents provide inspectors plenty of praise for Rectory House

Caring Homes and the team at Rectory House Nursing Home in Sompting are delighted to have recently received an overall ‘Good’ rating from national care regulators, The Care Quality Commission (CQC), following a comprehensive, unannounced, inspection in December. The CQC, after their inspection at Rectory House, has awarded the home a rating of 'Good' in all five key areas for being safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

Rectory House is part of Caring Homes, an established, family-run care company, who have been providing care for over 25 years. The home, a sympathetically converted Georgian house, with full accessibility to all floors and areas, is situated amongst two acres of well-tended gardens and grounds in the quiet village of Sompting at the foot of the South Downs National Park and provides the highest standards of residential, nursing and palliative care for up to 41 elderly residents.

The home was particularly pleased to have improved their rating during a period of major refurbishment to their first floor. Electing to reduce their intake of new residents during this period to ensure the comfort and safety of all residents the team introduced daily tea and chat event, 'Tea at Three', so that colleagues can take the time to sit and chat about what matters to residents and relatives and reflective practice used widely throughout the home to identify how and where further improvements can continuously be achieved. This approach was reflected in comments made to inspectors with one person saying, “I get the care I need, and staff keep an eye on me,” with another adding, “All the staff are helpful, and I’m looked after so well.”

During their visit, Inspectors observed that residents were fully supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and that people’s rights to make their own decisions were respected meaning that residents were in control of their support.

One resident told Inspectors, “Yes, I have a care plan and I can speak to the staff about anything I want or need. My care plan was reviewed a day or two ago and I was involved, as was my relative”. Inspectors observed colleagues asking people what they would like to do throughout the day, noting that they are kind, patient and encouraging.

For example, one relative asked to speak with the inspection team so they could give their feedback about the home. They told Inspectors, “It’s homely. The staff treat him with a great deal of respect and affection. It’s caring. His speech is minimal, but they always ask him what he wants. They treat him with respect and as one of the family. I have good contact with the staff, and they involve me with decisions.”

The team fully support people to develop and maintain relationships in order to avoid social isolation which includes; support to follow interests and to take part in activities that are socially and culturally relevant to them. One resident not only enjoys many of the activities offered but also helps cover the reception desk at lunchtime meeting and greeting visitors. The home has recently also encouraged residents to work with local primary school children in building a 3D exhibition of the surrounding area and its wildlife complete with an opening ceremony of the exhibition for all to enjoy.

The feedback from residents and relatives to inspectors was extremely positive with comments such as, “It’s lovely here and friendly. There’s lots to do, you can’t get bored. They treat me very well,” and, “I would score it 150 per cent for the nursing care. Staff are always available and there is good monitoring of care needs. I’m contacted if Mum is upset and they deal with her emotional needs and make her comfortable.”

Delighted with the feedback, home manager of Rectory House, Fiona Wiederkehr, said, “At Rectory House our aim is to foster an inclusive environment that enables our residents to live their lives to the fullest, and we are really pleased that the CQC noted that we are contributing to the development of best practice through a number of initiatives and our partnership working resulting in an improved quality of life for our residents.”

“We are delighted that we have received a ‘Good’ overall rating and completed a major refurbishment in these last few months and are looking forward to welcoming many more residents into our beautiful home Rectory House in the coming months. These achievements are down to the fantastic team here and great support from senior management and colleagues across Caring Homes.”

During their visit inspectors observed staff being passionate about the care they delivered to people, noting that they took time to understand people’s care needs and backgrounds. Everyone inspectors spoke with told them they felt safe living at Rectory House with relatives providing high praise for the management, comments including, “Mum is clearly enjoying taking part in the activities and has even made a few friends I believe. Plus, the distance she can walk is also increasing with the encouragement the home is giving her. Thank you.” With another relative adding that they had looked at around 30 homes before deciding that this home was the right one for their family member.

As part of the inspection process, inspectors spoke to seven residents, three relatives, the registered manager, the home's commissioning manager, the deputy manager, a registered nurse, care worker and chef. They observed care and support provided to residents, looked at the care and medication records for people and a variety of records relating to the management of the home.

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