Primrose House 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 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 were supported by staff who demonstrated kindness, patience, and respect. Staff had a good understanding of each person's individual needs, preferences, and personalities. Staff described how they promoted choice in daily routines, ensuring that people were actively involved in decisions about their care and supported in ways that reflected their diverse needs, wishes and preferences.

People and their relatives spoke positively about staff. Comments from people included, "They [staff] are just wonderful, we have a laugh and a joke and get on really well" and "I like all the staff, they are always cheerful and cheer me up."

Relatives told us, "The staff are caring. [Relatives name] did not settle well in the home. The staff spent time with them and supported when a loved one passed away. They [staff] are always on hand to support and take them to the shop and do their hair and clothes just the way they like." Another relative said, "Yes staff are kind and caring. [relatives name] had a couple of occasions when they were low in mood, the staff sat with them and showed their wedding photographs."

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 received person-centred care tailored to their individual needs. Staff understood each person well and supported them in making choices about their daily routines, preferences, and what was important to them.

People were given opportunities to express their likes, dislikes, and future goals and ambitions. For example, the service ran a 'golden ticket' event where people were invited to respond to the question: “If you won a golden ticket, what would you wish to do? The provider had identified one person with a background in the armed forces who expressed a strong interest in flying again. The provider and registered manager was exploring options to support this aspiration and was actively working on how this could be achieved to make the experience possible for this person.

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

The provider had been without an activities manager for several weeks. Whilst the management team planned seasonal activities, people and their relatives expressed that more activities would improve the service. Our observations indicated that daily activities were not consistently well-planned, and staff engagement was sometimes limited, reducing the meaningfulness of these activities. Relatives told us "The one thing that is not so good is the activities. They’ve not had a dedicated activity coordinator. We want [relatives name] to have activities, staff do their best, but I feel they should have more structured activities" and "They did have good activities, but they have had trouble; they had 2 activities coordinators leave. Sadly, 8 weeks without activities. The carers are trying their best."

The registered manager informed us that they had recruited a new activities manager who was starting at the service at the beginning of November.

People were supported and encouraged by staff to remain independent. Care plans in place provided information on how to support people in every aspect of their daily living. People responded well to staff who engaged with them in a positive manner.

Staff gave clear examples of how they promoted choice and independence in a way that people understood. One staff member told us, "I always give people time and encourage them to do things for themselves. I wouldn’t take over; I just give them time to complete what they are doing and lots of praise and reassurance."

Staff did not always respond to people’s needs in the moment or act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

We observed staff helping people in a respectful and sensitive manner. Staff asked people how they would like to spend their time, and this was supported. However, we also noted that staff were not always aware of people who required emotional support, as they were engaged in assisting different people. We fed this back to the registered manager who stated that this would be addressed with staff.

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

Staff wellbeing was a clear priority for both the provider and the registered manager. Feedback from staff indicated they felt genuinely valued and consistently appreciated. The provider held various initiatives to further promote staff wellbeing. These included an 'Employee of the Month' and annual 'Staff Recognition Awards’, to celebrate individual staff members contributions and promote a positive team culture.

Staff told us they felt supported by the registered manager. Staff received regular supervision meetings and monthly team meetings, giving them opportunities to discuss any concerns they may have. A staff member told us "They [registered manager] are really supportive and very approachable if I need to raise things with them."