Rothsay 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 living at the service and their friends and family, spoke highly of the staff team. People described staff as “wonderful”, “helpful” and “patient.” We observed many positive interactions between people and staff. For example, during some musical entertainment, we watched a member of staff dance along the corridor with one person. At lunchtime we saw a member of kitchen staff speaking kindly to another person.

One person’s visitor told us their relative had recently remembered something that had upset them. They told us “[Staff name] is very good. [Relative] was inconsolable and cried for hours and [staff name] sat with [them]. [Staff name] was so good.”

One person’s relative said, “The carers seem to be well trained and seemed to know how to keep the whole atmosphere quite calm. It's quite amazing that they are able to do that when you consider all that they have to deal with. They are patient and very kind and caring. They talk kindly to everyone. They all seem very professional.”

Staff understood the importance of maintaining people’s dignity.

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.

People were encouraged to maintain close relationships with friends and family. People’s relatives told us there were no restrictions on when they could visit and they told us they were always made to feel welcome. One person’s visitor told us “The receptionist is very welcoming. When I came in the other day, they actually took me to find [name] rather than just pointing the way.” Some people told us they were able to invite friends for lunch, and one person’s relative told us they held a family celebration at the service.

People were supported to attend religious services provided at the service by a visiting chaplain, and at local churches. There was a range of activities available for people to take part in, including trips out, if they chose to and these were advertised in a monthly newsletter which we saw was available on display in communal areas as well as copies available in people’s bedrooms.

The service encouraged people to take part in meaningful activities which had links with their lives before moving to the service. For some people this included things such as laying the table, folding napkins and baking. One person’s relative said, “The staff have told us [name] can still go to any of the lunch clubs or meetings [they] used to go to, and they will arrange a taxi for [name].”

Some people chose not to take part in group activities. One person said, “I’ve joined in activities occasionally, but I prefer to stay in my room.” Some people were unable to leave their bedrooms due their health condition, the activities staff made sure they were not socially isolated by providing activities in people’s rooms. One person told us they particularly liked it when the therapy dog came to visit.

People had brought furniture and other personal items when they moved to the service to make it feel personal to them. One person’s relative told us they had been supported to move in with their budgie. They said, “Having the budgie there has really helped [relative] to settle.” Another person’s relative said, “They’ve made the room nice and put up all [name’s] pictures and I asked if the bed could be moved so [name] could see out the window which they did.”

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

Care plans provided information for staff on how to promote people’s independence. For example, care plans listed any mobility aids people used and whether they needed staff support to move around the service or if they could manage themselves. Some plans described how people could manage aspects of their hygiene needs but needed staff support for some things. For example, one plan described how the person could manage their own dentures each morning, but just needed staff to help them keep them safely stored overnight. A member of staff said, “I ask people if they can do something by themselves. Like wash their face, dry their face, walk to the toilet etc. I will give them a hand but encourage them to do it themselves.”

We observed people were able to move around the service, and saw some people chose to sit near the entrance where there were drinks and cakes available. One person’s relative said, “My relative likes to sit in the reception area, where there is tea and coffee and cake and a small sitting area. It's an open area and [relative] enjoys watching people coming and going and can also help themselves to drinks and cake.”

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’s relatives told us they were kept informed when people were unwell. One person’s relative said, “The staff communicate with us which makes us feel comfortable. Occasionally [name] feels unwell, and the staff will call us just to update us on how [name] is, but they always say first, ‘don't worry, it's nothing serious’ when they call, just to reassure us.”

Care plans described in detail things that might trigger anxiety, distress or agitation, and steps staff could take to relieve this. Staff told us they had been trained on how to manage when people became anxious. One staff member said, “We have distressed reaction e-learning. We complete two modules, and it’s refreshed every year. It goes through how to de-escalate situations, such as speaking to people calmly and softly.”

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff.

There was a staff benefits scheme in place and employee of the month awards. Overall, the staff we spoke with said they felt supported by the provider. Staff were encouraged to undertake additional qualifications to support them in their development, known as champion roles. The manager told us, “We’ve got the champs board outside on display so everyone can see.”

There were policies in place to support workforce wellbeing and enablement.