Stonebridge Nursing Home

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

At our last inspection we rated this key question outstanding. At this inspection the rating has remained outstanding. This meant services were tailored to meet the needs of individuals and delivered to ensure flexibility, choice and continuity of care.

This service scored 89 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People’s care plans fully reflected their physical, mental, emotional and social needs, including those related to protected characteristics under the Equality Act. The staff team aimed to deliver holistic, person-centred care to everyone living at the service, irrespective of their age, gender, diagnosis or prognosis. Everyone living and working at the service were involved in the development of this philosophy, which replaced task-orientated or role-specific care with “whole” care, in which everyone had a part to play.

People and their relatives told us that staff had an excellent understanding of theirs or their loved one’s individual needs relating to their protected equality characteristics, social and cultural needs, and their values and beliefs that influenced their decisions on how they wanted to receive care, treatment and support. One relative told us, “The support staff ask me how I am feeling and provide me with reassurance and not to feel guilty about my [loved one] being in care”.

Staff knew how to meet people’s needs and preferences and were innovative in suggesting additional ideas that they themselves might not have considered.

The staff team understood the needs of different people and groups of people and delivered care and support in a way that met these needs and promoted equality and equity. Staff shared with us examples of how they had supported people to feel heard and respected regarding the use of prescribed medicines. In developing This truly person-centred approach which respected people's opinions and worked in partnership with them, meant people were more likely to take their prescribed medicines rather than resorting to restricting their freedom and administering medicines covertly (hidden in food or drink). One person told us, “The staff are brilliant, they are helping me to better understand my [medicines] and why I must take them to stay well”. Another person said, “They [staff] always encourage me to look after my health and help me get an appointment with the doctor when I need one, I can’t thank them enough”. This in turn offered people a more positive experience with their healthcare.

People were encouraged to express their cultural identity in the way they wished. Care records evidenced a person had been supported to source specialist meals from a local restaurant to meet their cultural needs and another person had been supported to decorate their private space in line with their religious festivals.

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice. The leadership team had an understanding of health inequalities and how that may impact on the people living at the home. Continuity of people’s care resulted from staff working consistently and meeting their assessed needs. People had a consistent staff team who had worked at the service for extended periods of time to help promote continuity of care.

Effective partnership working with external agencies meant that care was delivered effectively, and people’s health care needs were responded to. Care was coordinated and delivered to those most at risk and considered the preferences and protected characteristics of people living at the home. For example, people had opportunities to practice their faith as they wished and people were actively supported to be a part of their community, and to follow their interests outside of the service.

The provider always supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. Staff were exceptionally well trained and knowledgeable about how to support people with different communication needs such as using signs or objects to help them communicate.

People told us they felt empowered to make requests about activities, leave, medication and family visits, and that they were encouraged to visit family or have family visit if and when they wanted. People were truly respected and valued as individuals and were empowered as partners in their care, practically and emotionally by an exceptional and distinctive service.

Staff gave examples of the creative ways they worked to involve people to drive decisions about their person- centred care. People's individual goals were clearly defined within their care and support plans. People and staff recognised through regular reviews when people's aspirations were achieved, and the care documentation evidenced these achievements. One person told us, “Staff are helping me to build my confidence going shopping, but I don't feel rushed which makes me feel better about it”. Another person said, “Stonebridge has helped me massively. The other places I’ve been at I wasn’t listened to, but here staff are really lovely and care about what I want to do”.

The provider enabled people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. People were central to any decisions about their care and were always included in changes or adaptations. The service held regular meetings with people and their relatives.

Feedback from people or their relatives led to clear actions taken by the provider to improve services. Regular and inclusive residents and relatives’ meetings were facilitated to discuss developments at the home and to seek people’s views and opinions. For example, staff shared with us the outcome of a survey conducted at the end of 2024 regarding the provider’s change to a new winter lunch menu. As a result of people’s feedback, alternative dishes were added to the menu.

Both people and their relatives expressed confidence in raising complaints. One relative told us, “There have been a couple of minor things. I rang, got a response immediately and things were sorted there and then.” For people who could not verbally communicate or understand written documents, we found there were appropriate advocates involved in people’s lives.

There were systems in place for individuals to submit suggestions. The service had received numerous compliments regarding the quality of care provided by people, their families, and external professionals.

Care plans were developed collaboratively by the multidisciplinary team and in partnership with people. They reflected clear, robust risk assessments and mental health and physical health assessments, which were personalised to each individual and included the outcomes people wanted to achieve.

The provider made sure people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. People had nothing negative to say and felt they were treated fairly.

Communal Bathrooms were fitted with equipment to help support people with physical needs, such as handrails and bath hoists and the new renovations meant more people would have their own ensuites with walk in showers once completed.

People's care records demonstrated that where people required the support and intervention of external health care professionals, this was provided. This demonstrated that people had access to the care they needed.

Staff advocated for people when they went to their appointments. People’s human rights were protected and the provider had procedures in place regarding equality and diversity.

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured outcomes were positive and consistent, and they met the expectations of people and their relatives.

People, including those most likely to experience inequality, were supported to have good experiences at the service and achieve positive outcomes as outlined in the Effective and Caring sections of this report. As a result of the support they had, people had very positive experiences and outcomes at the service. We observed and were provided with multiple pieces of evidence to show the positive impact this had for people. For example, people were supported to have access to the community and places which held meaning for them. A variety of activities were planned to support people and encourage them to remain active in their community.

Staff and leaders were innovative in how they listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes. Staff and leaders actively used this information to provide exceptionally tailored care, support and treatment in response to this. Staff ensured people were supported to maintain personal safety in the community. We saw travel safety plans, along with clear risk assessments that had been devised and agreed with individuals to ensure they could participate safely in activities outside of the home.

People were very happy and relaxed being supported by the staff team. Staff were dedicated and committed to supporting people to make choices and have the best experiences and outcomes they could have. One staff member said, “We can’t always plan activities too far in advance due to the weather etc, so having a large staff team means we can be more flexible and support people how they want to be supported and when.”

The service continued to engage well in the safeguarding process, raising safeguarding alerts in line with the local framework, and working well with local safeguarding professionals. Any lessons learnt throughout this process were identified and shared with all stakeholders to evidence positive outcomes for people.

All admissions to Stonebridge were planned in advance with a thorough preadmission assessment taking place to enable people coproduce their care plans and make decisions about the decor of their room etc. This ensured people felt included in decisions about their future and the care they would like to receive.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future. The home supported younger adults to transition from secure mental health hospitals, where some had been for many years, and were supporting people to integrate back into the community and build their confidence. Each person had a clear, step-by-step plan for achieving each goal, however small. Those people that had ambitions to live independently received support with developing life skills to do this, including managing their own medicines, going to the local barbers, ordering a takeaway of their choice or going to the shops to buy clothes. A visiting professional told us, “The home actively promotes social inclusion and integration with the community. It is a one-of-a-kind service in this region, I wish we had more like Stonebridge”.

People and their relatives were supported in a kind and compassionate way to discuss and record their end of life wishes. Staff knew who to contact for external support if people needed help at the end of their life. One of the key aims of the service was to support throughout their life and have it as their ‘home for life.’ The management and staff team were committed to this and had policies and procedures to support people and their families to plan for their future at the service. The home employed a Pastoral Care Lead whose primary training was as a Soul Midwife and they support people living at the service, their families and staff in the final days and hours of life. This staff member also engaged with people in small groups or on 1:1 basis, utilising aromatherapy and sound therapy which promoted a sense of comfort and calm.