St Catherines 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 inadequate. At this assessment the rating has changed to requires improvement. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

This service scored 60 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. We received positive feedback from people and their relatives about the support they received and the way staff treated them. We saw staff treating people with respect, for example, knocking on their doors. One person commented, “I like it, the staff are friendly and very conscientious.” Relatives told us, “The staff are lovely and make us feel very welcome when we visit” and “[Relative] is really well looked after. The staff are full of compassion.”

The registered manager undertook ‘Dignity in Care’ audits, to evaluate the care provided and ensure peoples’ dignity was enhanced. The latest audit had identified staff would benefit from further training in supporting people who expressed their emotions and this had been planned. The provider had commenced a ‘Stop the Clock’ initiative, whereby all staff stopped what they were doing over lunchtime, to support people and spend individual time with them.

The provider always treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They always took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.People were positive about the way staff treated them. Our observations indicated staff knew people well, and we saw them involving people in conversations about all sorts of topics.One person commented, “They [staff] do know what I like, and dislike and I think they are used to me by now.”

The provider employed 2 activity coordinators, who had devised an activity programme, which was discussed at the residents’ meetings. People were very positive about the activities and events on offer. We saw people enjoying an exercise activity run by an external professional. One person told us, “[Staff] who do the activities are vital to this place. They are excellent and are a breath of fresh air. What they do makes us a little bit happier” and a relative commented, “The 2 girls who do the activities are fantastic. They are so lovely with the residents.” The activity team told us they spent time with people in their bedrooms if they were unable to get out of bed and would take some people for a walk. We saw staff supporting people to sit out in the garden.

Overall, the provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. We saw that staff respected people’s wishes, and they told us they encouraged people’s independence where possible. Care plans included information about how staff could support people with independence. One person said, “I have a shower when I want and go out for a smoke in the garden when I want.” A staff member told us “Some of the residents I know well and what they want. That’s' our priority, the manager always reminds us to respect all the residents.” However, the provider needed to ensure this approach was fully understood and embedded with all staff. Indeed, we observed a staff member pulling a person backwards in a wheeled chair, taking them to their bedroom. They did not speak with the person to give them a choice or any explanation about what they were doing.

People told us they could have visitors when they wished and there were no restrictions in place. A relative said, “There is no limitation on when we can visit.”

The provider did not always listen to and understand people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff did not always respond to people’s needs in the moment or act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.Overall, we observed staff were attentive to people and responded to their needs. At lunchtime, we saw staff responding appropriately to a person who didn’t feel well and wanted to return to their bedroom.

However, people’s views varied about the responsiveness or staff, especially at certain times. One person commented, “If I want help, I just have call someone. I don’t have to wait too long.” Whilst others said they were kept waiting and had raised concerns about staff support especially during the weekends or in the evening. They said, “They could be quicker during the morning with the call bell, and there are less staff on at a weekend” and “Like today, I pressed because I want to go to armchair exercises, but it’s been a while and then I pressed the emergency button by mistake.” A relative commented, “We think sometimes there’s not enough staff especially at weekends. When visiting at weekends you press the bell and it takes ages for them to answer.”The management team had been reviewing staffing arrangements, along with call bell response times and had made changes to ensure staff supported people more effectively during mealtimes. They were continuing to monitor and further embed this approach

The provider did not always care about and promote the wellbeing of their staff. They did not always support or enable staff to deliver person-centred care. We received mixed feedback about staff wellbeing. Some staff felt their well-being was supported, and they were able to deliver person-centred care. Overall, feedback indicated there had been an improvement in staff morale. We received comments such as, “We appreciate the support we are getting; we want to see the best for people, I think things are getting better” and “I love my job.” However, others told us they did not always feel listened to by the provider or able to raise their concerns. This especially related to the potential impact staff absences could have on their ability to spend time with people when providing care. Managers told us they were continuing to build on the improvements being made.