Downham Grange

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. People felt the staff were kind and caring, 1 relative we spoke with said “I find the current staff very respectful, I can’t fault them, they are very friendly and welcoming, they offer tea, they discuss how he has been that day.” When we spoke to staff they all expressed the importance of promoting dignity, respect and privacy and gave examples of how they achieved this.

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. We spoke with 1 person who said, “they always give me options and do things how I want to be supported.”

We observed people were supported on an individual basis and they were given time to make decisions. People’s rooms encouraged their individuality and were person-centred. Peoples care records were individualised and spoke about their life and how they liked to spend their day on a daily basis.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. All the people we spoke with felt the service encouraged people's independence, choice and control. 1 person we spoke with said “They question what support I need, and I told them I'm an independent person and they encourage me to be independent.”

We observed people had suitable equipment to encourage their independence; people were able to visit the service when they liked. Activities that were provided appeared to be enjoyed by people. We reviewed peoples care records and they were clear on how much support a person needed and how staff can encourage them to maintain their independence. People set their own targets and were supported to carry out their own activities for example keeping in touch with people either over the telephone or using their own computer.

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 that the service was always prompt in dealing with any concerns. 1 relative told us “I have found them to deal with things straight away since he has been there, and they will call me if there was something important to tell me.”

We could see that staff knew people well and they were aware of people's health conditions. If they were concerned over a persons’ health, they told us what action they would take. We observed call bells on the day being answered promptly and staff were visible in the service.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. We reviewed staff feedback surveys and where staff had left comments or concerns, we could see that these were addressed. Staff we spoke with felt supported by management and felt valued, 1 staff member we spoke with said “The manager and deputy have been so supportive, I have had personal issues, and they have relieved any work stress that I would have had and supported me with my shifts”

We reviewed staffs’ rotas and noted there was adequate gaps between shifts to ensure that staff received appropriate rest periods.