Kelstone Court Nursing 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 service since it registered under a new provider.

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.

This service scored 70 (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 did not always treat people as individuals or make sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They did not always take account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Although we observed that staff treated people well and the feedback we received from people, relatives and healthcare professionals was positive, we observed that staff were not always proactive in supporting people who expressed frustration or distress. Staff were present and observant to people’s needs and wishes when in the lounge but did not always engage well when people appeared distressed. There was also a lack of guidance on people’s care plan about potential distraction techniques to engage people when they were distressed.

We fed this back to the registered manager who said they would seek guidance from a reputable source around proactive techniques in engaging people who are likely to express distress.
Despite this, people told us staff treated them as individuals and were familiar with their preferences and daily routines. Staff understood the importance of treating people as individuals. For example, they knew the type of activities that people enjoyed and also their preferences in relation to eating and drinking and dressing.

A healthcare professional said, “The standards of care are such that I always get good feedback from the family of residents placed there”
 

The provider did not always treat people as individuals or make sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They did not always take account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.

Although we observed that staff treated people well and the feedback we received from people, relatives and healthcare professionals was positive, we observed that staff were not always proactive in supporting people who expressed frustration or distress. Staff were present and observant to people’s needs and wishes when in the lounge but did not always engage well when people appeared distressed. There was also a lack of guidance on people’s care plan about potential distraction techniques to engage people when they were distressed.

We fed this back to the registered manager who said they would seek guidance from a reputable source around proactive techniques in engaging people who are likely to express distress.
Despite this, people told us staff treated them as individuals and were familiar with their preferences and daily routines. Staff understood the importance of treating people as individuals. For example, they knew the type of activities that people enjoyed and also their preferences in relation to eating and drinking and dressing.

A healthcare professional said, “The standards of care are such that I always get good feedback from the family of residents placed there”
 

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

People told us staff supported them to maintain family and friendship circles. Comments included, “I get everything I need, my daughter and son come and my daughter takes me out.”
Relatives also told us that were able to visit their loved ones without restriction. They said, “I visit twice a week and I’m happy” and “Whenever we have visited, we always visit at different times and announced and it’s always the same level of care. Always caring.”
Staff supported people to maintain their independence and do as much for themselves as they were able to do so safely.
The provider encouraged people to lead fulfilled lives and there was a thriving activities programme in the home which people took part it. These include in-house and external activities. Staff told us, “We Try and do individual and group activities. We always get input form people and families/friends regarding activities” and “The new director is great, not afraid to ask for any resources I need to run activities.”
 

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.

Staff were visibly present throughout this assessment and were quick to respond to people’s questions and requests for support. For example, we saw several instances of staff responding quickly to people asking for assistance to use the toilet or have a hot drink. Staff were also vigilant when people were moving around the care home.

Staff demonstrated a good awareness of people’s health and medical needs and how they would respond to these to prevent them from becoming unwell.
 

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 the managers fostered a positive work environment and looked out for their wellbeing.Team and individual meetings were used to discuss how staff were feeling at work and if there was anything the provider or manager could do to support them further.