The Ridings Care 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

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good.

This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care. People and their loved ones spoke of the care team as kind, caring and respectful. They felt the staff team knew people’s individual needs well and responded quickly to urgent needs. Staff understood people’s capacity to choose, this helped them to promote people’s independence.

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.

At out last inspection we saw some people being treated in an undignified way. Some of the language used when talking about people and writing about them, was not respectful. At this inspection, we saw people being treated with kindness and dignity. People who could speak with us, praised the staff team. One person told us, “The staff are very good.” A relative said, “The staff are very attentive.” Another relative told us, “Staff are very discreet when providing personal care.” People and their loved ones told us about ways in which they were supported to receive care with dignity. A relative said, “[The staff] respect [my loved ones’] privacy by closing their door when necessary and also closing the bathroom door.” The management team spoke very positively about the care team, they told us how hard they had worked through all the changes introduced to provide care with kindness to people. Staff spoke about people with fondness and respect. The language in care plans was also very respectful in tone. Not all people living at the service were able to speak to us about their experiences of care. For these people we used a structured observational tool to assess whether they received kind and compassionate care and were treated with dignity.We saw staff treating people who could not communicate easily with patience and understanding.

At our last inspection, we saw people were not always cared for in a person centred way. At this inspection, we saw people receiving care which treated them as individuals. People and their loved ones told us staff treated them as individuals and knew how they wanted to be supported. One person told us, “I am in my room most of the time, but that is out of choice.” Another person said, “I can have a shower whenever I like.” Staff told us about some people who liked to get up later in the day, this wish was respected. The management team explained that some of the younger people living at The Ridings Care Home were accustomed to having their main meal late afternoon rather than at lunch time. Therefore the main meal had been moved to late afternoon in keeping with their preference. Care plans guided staff in ways people could be supported with their individual needs for example in relation to how they liked to dress and express their gender, their cultural and their religious beliefs. A family member told us about the way their loved one was supported with culturally appropriate personal care. People told us the meals they liked to eat were on the menu. People’s rooms were personalised for them. The door to each person’s room had a picture of the person on it and details telling staff and others about what they liked and what was important to them. In one part of the home there were sensory panels on the walls, which could appeal to a person living with dementia. Staff were able to tell us about what some people liked to do with their time, what music they enjoyed and what activities they might like to participate it. People and their loved ones told us staff knew them and their care needs well.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. People who could speak with us told us they were supported to be as independent as possible. Care plans guided staff about what people could do for themselves and what they may need help with. At mealtimes we saw the tables were set with the specific cutlery, bowls, plates and cups to allow people to eat their meals and enjoy their drinks as independently as possible. One person said, “I can get up and go to bed when I want.” A relative told us, “[The staff] always ask him what he would like to wear.” People who smoked were supported where possible to be as independent as they could be with going outside to have a cigarette. Some people who were safe to do so had access to make drinks for themselves. However, some people and relatives told us they did not think there was enough for them to do to help them remain active and engaged. One person told us, “I’m bored and don’t go anywhere.” Another said “Sometimes it gets boring but as you get older, you get used to the situation. They don’t often sit down and chat with you.” We saw staff spending time doing colouring and puzzles, watching TV and chatting with people. The staff were not always running around and task focused in their approach. However it remained more of a challenge for staff to provide engagement and activity to people who were mainly cared for in their rooms. The provider explained they were advertising for a full time activity coordinator to assist the 2 part time staff already in post. The activity coordinator we spoke with had a good understanding of the varied and wide ranging interests of different people living at The Ridings and the challenges of utilising time to benefit the most people effectively.

The provider listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

People told us when they needed support, staff came to their aid quickly. One person said, “Someone is always around so if I need someone I just shout out or press the buzzer.” Another person described to us a recent incident in which they were accidentally injured. They told us, “There were 4-5 people here within seconds.” Another person said, “If I need someone, I put my hand up or use the call bell. Generally they come quickly depending on the situation.” Relatives told us about situations in which urgent health needs (both physical and mental) were met quickly. Staff checked on people who were not able to use a call bell to call for assistance on a minimum of an hourly basis. The electronic care recording and monitoring system the team used prompted them to make sure these checks were made. At our last inspection we saw staff had not always responded appropriately to people’s urgent medical needs. At this inspection we saw that now training had been given to staff and records and monitoring had improved. This enabled staff to have a better understanding of how to identify the nature of particular medical emergencies and what steps to take to support people appropriately. Although there was still some confusion amongst the nursing team about which tools were to be used in the event of a possible head injury. We saw that people were supported in a timely way and emergency services were consistently called for advice.

Most staff we spoke with told us they felt supported by the management team. Many of the staff we spoke with had been working at the service for a number of years. They had been through a lot of change; they told us they felt the changes definitely benefitted the people living at The Ridings Care Home. Staff told us (including night staff) the registered manager was easy to speak to if needed. Most staff we talked with spoke positively about the management team (the Registered Manager, Deputy Manager and the Nominated Individual). Many staff described the management team as supportive. We saw staff were supported with regular supervisions. A group of night staff had not had their annual appraisals yet. The registered manager told us a plan was in place to address this.