St Denis Lodge Residential 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 Good. At this assessment the rating has remained Good.

This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care

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.

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 health and social care professionals about staff treating people kindly and in a caring manner. They also told us they felt welcomed and supported at the service. “The management are brilliant, organised and friendly. They have a very good understanding and knowledge of the residents living there and communicate well with their families.”

We observed kind interactions between staff and people. Interactions observed during mealtimes and throughout the day were positive and caring. Staff told us they knew people well and made sure they felt cared for and relaxed.

People and relatives were complimentary about staff. One person said, “The carers are exceptionally attentive.” And a relative told us, “They are always friendly, offering drinks or cake and present in a professionally appropriate manner. Their training seems excellent and confident.”

The provider treated people as individuals and made sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Records showed care plans were regularly updated and reviewed. Care plans were person-centred and contained information specific to individuals. Staff told us care plans had enough information to support them to deliver care to people.

Relatives agreed that most staff knew their family members well and provided care as they wanted to receive it. Relatives and people felt involved in developing care plans. A relative told us, “I’m involved in planning and regularly reviewing [person’s] care. [Person] is involved in creating their own care plan and it’s been established with [person] in quite an informal discussion-based way. The registered manager and the management team have always encouraged me to drop by the office whenever I’m in, so that we can all stay up to date and constantly review how things are going for [person].”

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People’s care plans had a good level of detail about their care and support needs. Staff were able to support people based on their wishes and preferences. The home had several communal areas, so people had the choice of whether to sit with others or not and there were a variety of activities available for people to take part in if they wished.

We observed staff promote the use of walking aids to keep people mobile and independent. This was evident throughout different areas of the service.

Visitors were encouraged in the service, and the provider did not restrict visits to specific times. A relative said, “[Person]is very happy there and I can visit whenever I want to.”

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.

One person told us, “There’s always someone around to help, you don’t have to wait long.”

Staff understood people’s needs and how to meet them. Staff were responsive to people’s requests for help; we observed staff responding quickly to a call bell alarm activated in a person’s room.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Staff spoke positively about working at the service a staff member told us, “I love my job and love the home. Our residents are happy and often say they are happy to be here and feel loved. This is often mentioned by visitors.” There were several initiatives in place to support staff. For example, there was an ‘employee reward’ scheme where a staff member could be chosen to receive a gift of appreciation. However, staff feedback was mixed with some feeling supported by the management team with others less so. Comments included, “I think they do an incredible job. They are approachable, thoughtful but will also point out where a person could improve in an appropriate manner. It is not an easy job to manage a care home, and I think they do it very well.” And “There have been times where I feel the staff as a whole have not been supported by management.”

Staff had supervisions and team meetings where they could discuss any concerns they had.

Counselling support was available through the organisation, and staff were reminded how to access it. Continuous professional development was strongly encouraged, with the service funding additional training relevant to staff roles and career aspirations.