Castor Lodge 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.

This is the first assessment for this registered service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.

People told us that staff were very caring and kind and respected their individual preferences. Staff told us the importance of getting to know people they care for and building a rapport.

This service scored 65 (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 treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

People and relatives told us that staff were very caring. One person told us “Yes they [staff] listen to us, they are good, yes they do care”.

We observed staff being kind and having meaningful interactions. Staff were patient and respected people’s choices. People appeared to be relaxed and comfortable around staff. Staff told us the importance of getting to know people they cared for, building a rapport and understanding their preferences. The home had a well-being and dignity champion, and the well-being team spent one-to-one time with people as well as with groups.

The provider did not always treat people as individuals or make sure people’s care, support

and treatment met people’s needs and preferences.

Care plans had a separate section for personal preferences; however, this information was not always completed. In some cases, there was no information about people’s current hobbies and interests. Daily records did not always give information about how people spent their day.This meant they did not reflect that people’s personal and social needs were being met.

However, people and their relatives told us that staff respected their individual preferences which we observed.

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

Relatives told us they could visit their family member at any time and felt welcome. People told us that staff respected their independence, and that staff knew them well. People told us that there was an activity timetable, but they also liked to do their own activities like reading the paper, going to the café and playing cards with friends. One person said “I can do what I want”

and another person said, “I always say what I want”. People told us they make their own choices and have the equipment they need to maintain their independence.

However, there was a lack of evidence in daily records regarding the activities people were taking part in and the choices they were making. This meant they did not reflect that people were supported to maintain relationships or have access to the local community to support their independence.

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 staff were responsive when they requested assistance. We observed staff answering call bells quickly and people were regularly offered food and drinks. We observed staff responding immediately when someone needed support, and people responded warmly to staff interactions. However, 1 person told us, “The staff are absolutely marvellous, but they haven’t got time to spend a minute, they have to run off to the next job”.

Daily records were not detailed to make it clear how staff were supporting people with their immediate needs.They did not give a clear overview of how people had been supported in line with their support and health needs including monitoring people’s diet and skin health.

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

Staff told us they felt supported and said senior staff were approachable. Staff told us they had opportunities to raise any concerns or issues, and reassurance and guidance was provided by senior staff. A staff member told us “[the manager’s] really supportive, I can speak up and say how I feel, I can go straight to them’. Staff meeting minutes showed that staff were provided with information on how to access mental health support.