Stambridge Meadows 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 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 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 told us they were treated with kindness and said staff understood their preferences. People spoke positively about their relationships with their keyworkers and said they felt comfortable raising concerns or sharing what mattered to them. One person told us, “I think they [staff] are very pleasant,” while another said, “They know what I want, no problem. I have a good relationship with them.” Relatives also spoke highly of the staff, describing them as caring and responsive. One relative said, “Staff are extremely caring and they pop in and have a chat with [relative]. They attend to all [relative’s] needs,” while another relative told us, “All of the staff are kind, caring and immediately respond if anyone needs help.”
 

The provider treated people as individuals and staff took account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture, and unique backgrounds, including protected characteristics. We saw evidence the management team actively encouraged people and their relatives to share information about people’s personal histories and their cultural, social and religious needs. This information was used to help ensure care was person‑centred and meaningful. Relatives spoke positively about the care provided and told us staff knew people well. Feedback included, “They know what [relative] likes and doesn’t like,” and another person shared the staff knew their relatives likes, dislikes and routines.

People were supported to celebrate cultural or religious occasions that were meaningful to them. Staff described how they supported individuals to practise their faith and explained they were able to meet a wide range of spiritual and cultural needs, ensuring support was inclusive of people from different backgrounds and beliefs.
 

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. We observed people being supported and encouraged to join in activities by staff, however, people were not pressured to participate, and their choices were respected. People spoke positively about the activities. One person told us, “We have an activity person here, she knows what we can do, arms stretching you know.” Another person explained they did not always wish to join in, and this was respected by staff, adding, “The staff come in often to see me, and we usually have a good laugh. I do go to the lounge sometimes and in the summer, I have been out to the garden.” The service had access to a vehicle, and the activities coordinator explained they were working to support people to access the community.

The provider regularly invited external professionals and groups to enhance people’s wellbeing. This included visits from a therapy dog, accessible fitness activities, and live entertainment. The activities coordinator was undertaking Singing for the Brain training, an Alzheimer’s Society programme that uses singing and music to support people living with dementia by promoting wellbeing, communication and social connection.

Relatives shared positive feedback about the activities on offer to their loved ones, with comments including “There’s lot of enrichment activities. Residents aren’t just sitting there all day. [Relative] really enjoys the painting and using watercolours and finds it calming. They have a minibus and do trips out.” Another relative shared, “They have seated keep fit, seated bowling and seated tapdancing and entertainers. A therapy dog visits and there’s a cat too. They have a family app, and I can log onto this any time of day and I can see [relative] joining in. We can post things on her wall, and it creates a journal for her, its brilliant. They’ve had excursions to the beach and there’s pictures of them sat on a bench having an ice cream. The garden at the home is 5 acres and sometimes when the weather is nice, they sit there in the sun plane spotting.”
 

Staff listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff told us they had enough time to talk and listen to people. One member of staff told us “Management has told us when we are working with residents, we should not think about time. We should sit and talk to residents if we think they need support. Our main priority is the residents and their comfort.”

The service had a call bell system in place to enable people to call for assistance when required. We observed staff responding to call bells promptly and in a timely manner during our visit. People we spoke with told us they had no concerns about the time it took for staff to respond when they used the call bell. Relatives also gave positive feedback about staff’s responsiveness. One relative said, “There are enough staff. It’s very calm, and the carers respond quickly if an alarm goes off.” Another commented, “They carry out tasks in a timely manner and are mindful of their duty of care to both residents and themselves.”
 

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff. Staff we spoke with told us they felt supported, one member of staff shared, “There is enough support from the organisation and managers to deliver quality care.” The registered manager told us staff had access to mental health and wellbeing support, as well as a rewards scheme through a local authority initiative. They explained they were committed to supporting staff both in and outside of work wherever possible. Staff were also encouraged to recognise each other’s strengths and positive contributions within the service. This included a monthly recognition process where staff could nominate colleagues who had gone the extra mile and explain why.