Byrnhill Grove Registered 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 service. This key question has been rated good. This meant people felt well-supported, cared for or treated with dignity and respect.

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.

People were always treated with kindness, empathy and compassion and staff respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated family members and colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. People and family members told us people were treated with kindness and privacy and dignity was respected. For example, one person said, “Generally speaking, they’re very good. There’s no exceptions to that.” A family member told us, “I hear how they talk to [relative] when I arrive and they don’t know I’m there. They talk to them respectfully. That’s the way they speak to the other residents too.” Care staff spoke about people in a caring way, were observed to treat people kindly and were polite to people. When people had visitors, they were supported to spend time outside of their bedrooms with their visitors, such as in a less used lounge at the entrance of the service or within various garden areas.

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. Feedback from people, family members, staff and observation indicated people were understood and treated as individuals. A person told us, “They know me and my warped sense of humour.” And when asked if staff knew them well another person responded, “On the whole, quite a lot of them do. They know what I need.” Staff were aware of people who liked to remain in bed longer and support was adjusted. For example, the cook described how one person’s main meal could be saved for later if they were not yet ready for this and knew another person did not like to eat meat. The manager had advocated for a person to have a specialist equipment, which meant they did not have to spend all their time in bed.

Activities were organised to support people to maintain family relationships such as to support a person and their spouse to celebrate an important anniversary. Care plans included information about people’s individual preferences and wishes; spiritual or religious views and what support may be required to meet these.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. People confirmed they made choices about their care and support. One person told us, “I choose to get up early, I’ve always been up early.” Another person told us they could choose where to eat their meals and had chosen to eat in their bedroom but added they could have gone to the dining room. We heard people ordering their breakfast and staff seeking clarification, such as the type of bread or sauce they wanted. Staff understood people’s rights to make choices.

People confirmed their independence was promoted. People had access to mobility aids and at lunch time we saw people were provided with the support they needed. A person said, “I do as much as I can; I’m independent. But they’re [staff] always there if I need them.” Another person told us, “I’m not as independent as I’d like to be because of my immobility. I can use the frame, but at night I need someone to take me to the toilet. They [staff] know when I need help.”

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. An external professional told us, “During a visit, my client became unsettled and upset. The staff were responsive, patient and effectively supported my client to feel calm, through strategies such as distraction and change of staff member when needed.”

Most people felt staff responded to them promptly. A person said, “They [staff] always answer quickly. They come and see quickly.” Another person told us, “On the whole, yes. They [staff] don’t always come quickly because they’re very busy. You have to make allowances.” When people used call bells this was linked to a phone held by a member of care staff. This meant the staff member could clarify the support the person required and ensure the most appropriate response. For example, if a person wanted a hot drink or snack they could prepare this and take ir to them, or if two staff were required they could seek another staff member. This system also helped prioritise and respond to people with more urgent needs first. Movement alert equipment was in place to support staff to respond promptly should people be placing themselves at risk.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff, and supported and enabled staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff described a culture that was respectful of diversity and created positive teamworking. Staff felt valued and were clear they could speak with the management team at any time and felt that their views, opinions and suggestions would be listened to. The manager understood the need to make reasonable adjustments for staff who may have social, religious or culture needs to fulfil. Individually tailored support for staff was offered in response to specific situations arose. Staff had access to a range of structured employment support options to further assist with their wellbeing.