Abbey Grange 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 nominated individual involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment, the rating has changed to 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 service always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff mostly treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

We observed a number of examples of good care with people taking place from all of the staff team and management. Positive interactions were witnessed between all of the staff team and people, and it was clear a good rapport was established, and staff knew people’s needs well.

People and relatives were very positive about the care they received. Comments included, “The staff are very caring, and we can have a laugh and a joke with them which makes the care feel more natural, more person cantered”, “The staff are all good. (They are) caring anytime give (people) time day or night” and, “The care is lovely, staff are not pushy they take their time.”

Staff told us they treated people with dignity and respect and knew how to deliver good care to people. One said, “People are treated very well. They are treated with dignity, we make sure during personal care we close curtains, always ask for consent and make sure there are ready.”

Feedback from professionals were mixed. Most people were positive about the improvements in the service. However, one professional told us staff were speaking to people in a more engaging manner due to our presence at the service. We discussed the feedback from professionals with the nominated individual who told us they had made plans to engage in a meaningful way with professionals to support the needs of people in the service.

The service 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.

All of the people and relatives were very positive about the care people received and individual choices that were provided. A relative said, “My [person] feels 100% safe here, the staff know them well and more importantly [person] knows them, they recognise their faces, and [person] knows their names’

People were provided with care, according to their choice, likes and wishes, they were encouraged to enjoy life with a range of activities and things they like to do. We observed really kind interactions between people and the staff team, and a good rapport was seen between them. Staff were observed offering to help, not just assuming but asking people with kindness and care. Staff told us, “We ask people, and they make their choice such as what clothes they want to wear. Information (about people’s individual choices) is available in people’s care plans.”

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

People said they were given choices, that staff supported them with their independence and access to activities of their choosing. They told us, “Staff are kind, and we get out and about, even though we are in a care home we don’t feel restricted”, “If [people] need help with something staff always respond quickly” and, “There [staff member] is that's the [staff member] who makes sure I am alright.”

We observed a wide range of activities taking place throughout our assessment and records confirmed people had been engaged and supported in accessing activities and individual care to promote their well-being and independence. Care records included person centered and detailed information about people’s needs, choice and independence and how to support them. There was currently no dedicated activity co-ordinator, activities were being provided by the staff team.

Feedback in surveys from a professional in the service discussed the positive ways people’s individual needs and choice were provided. It recorded, ‘My colleagues and I were truly impressed by the creative and engaging activities you’ve introduced for your residents.’

Staff discussed the ways in which they promoted people’s independence, choice and control. They told us, “Activities have really got better. We encourage people to (undertake an activity). I have an allocated resident (person who used the service) as my keyworker, it is my job to try and get them out the home twice a week, we go to the gym, for food and for a haircut. [Person] enjoys going out” and, “We do activities every day and record how people found it and if they enjoyed it, we fill out feedback forms with people. There is a weekly activity planner displayed. Today we are arranging fresh flowers for people’s bedrooms. We encourage people to be as independent as they can be, so we ask people what they prefer and encourage them to do it.”

The service 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.

People and relatives told us people were supported with their needs, as they needed it. They said, “There is a good bond between staff and residents (people who used the service) you can’t teach that”, “My [person] has [a medical need], but they know how to support them” and, “Staff are always willing to listen.”

We observed that the staff maintained a constant presence in the communal areas; this ensured they were available to respond to requests from people as needed. People appeared and they told us they were happy living in the service.

Staff demonstrated their understanding about how they support people according to their needs. One said, “We are familiar with the residents and can understand how they feel. We always take the time to speak to people and for those who can’t talk, we look for facial expressions.”

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

All of the staff team were very positive about the management and the improvements that have been made. They told us, “As a staff member I am treated very nicely, no issues. The [nominated individual] and, [registered manager] are very nice, it is like a family here and staff are always welcome in the office” and, “The managers look after you and you can ask them anything. We have staff meetings, and they say if you aren’t comfortable to speak out at the meeting, put anonymous feedback in the box.”

Staff records included information about supervisions and spot checks taking place. There was a range of information, support material and guidance to support the staff team in the delivery of good care. Team meetings were taking place and staff were engaged and involved.