Greystoke Manor

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 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 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 and their relatives commented on the kindness of staff. One person said, “The staff are exceptionally good. One or two don’t have as much time to spend with you, but they all do what’s necessary.” Another person commented, “They treat people with respect. Even when you’re stripped off and they’re helping you, they treat you with dignity.” A relative told us, “Staff are very caring and have looked after my mother for a while. The home know me really well and I always have a very good welcome. I have no complaints over my mother’s treatment.”

We observed many positive interactions between people and staff. For example, we saw a staff member chatting to a person in the sunroom. The conversation was natural, and the person appeared to enjoy the engagement as they were smiling and speaking in an upbeat tone of voice. Another staff member said, “What matters to me is that the residents are happy and cared for, and I’m doing my job to the best of my ability. I like helping people.”

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’s spiritual, cultural and diverse needs were catered for. Some people chose to visit the local church, and staff would accompany them to make sure they arrived safely. A member of the clergy visited to conduct services at the home so people could join in. One person said, “I’m not religious, but if you wanted to go to church, I’m sure they’d help you.” A relative told us, “Care is consistent and staff remain constant. There are still the same staff since my mum came to live there. It’s a friendly place. Whenever I go to visit I’m always welcomed, whatever time I go. I see how the home is running in the morning, afternoon and early evening and it’s fairly constant.”

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

People were encouraged to be as independent as possible. One person said, “They’re good about letting me out. I don’t feel shut in. I go out on my own, but they’re careful about me going out and coming back.” Another person told us, “They’re [relative] coming today to take me back to my house. I’ve still got my house.”

A range of activities encouraged people’s independence. For example, a musical movement class supported people to exercise and mobilise. People were encouraged to come into the dining room and join others for lunch. On the day we visited the home, a quiz was held outside. We observed people enjoyed the activity and interacting with each other. One person alleged the activities co-ordinator had “bullied us into a quiz”. The activities co-ordinator responded, “the word is enticed”, amid much laughter.

The provider did now always listen to and understand people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff did not always respond to people’s needs in the moment or act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

We observed people having their lunchtime meal. Some people had commented previously about the delay in their lunchtime meal being served and so lunch timings were staggered, with some people sitting down to lunch at around noon and others later at 1.00pm. Staff were busy supporting 17 people in the dining room, and some were assisting people in their bedrooms. Even with the different mealtimes, some people had to wait. One person said, “You come down later and then you wait 20 minutes and they bring the meal and it’s cold.” We observed another person asking staff for an aspirin because they had back ache, but no staff responded. Twenty minutes later, the person called out again, asking for aspirin. This time they were told by a staff member, “You can’t have any as the medicines round hasn’t started yet.” We intervened and asked the person if a cushion might help their back ache. They agreed to this and we asked a staff member to supply them with a cushion as they sat at the dining table.

After lunch we heard a person calling out. No staff heard them calling, so we went to see them. The person was anxious and upset, pulling various items out of their wardrobe and piling them on to their walking frame. We went to find a member of staff to assist them.

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

We asked staff whether they felt the provider supported their wellbeing, and what was in place to help them do their job effectively. One staff member said, “They give us the equipment needed and [senior staff member] is there to help when we need.” The registered manager told us, “My door is always open. If staff don’t want to speak to me, they can email me, message me from their phones. I am there for them, at team meetings, supervisions and appraisals. If staff need any particular help, we put that in place. For example, for staff with caring responsibilities, I try and give them their rotas 4 weeks in advance. I try to be as flexible as possible.”