The Rowans 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 newly registered service. This key question has been rated outstanding.

This meant people were truly respected, treated with kindness and compassion and valued as individuals; people were partners in their care in an exceptionally caring service.

This service scored 90 (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 was excellent at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues and professionals from other organisations with kindness and respect and we found the culture of kindness and care extended to people’s relatives and visitors, and feedback we received reflected this. A relative told us, “I visit three or four times a week. I can stay as long as I want, and I can visit at any time of day or night. The staff know me well and make me feel very welcome.” A visitor asked to speak to us; it was their first time in the home visiting a friend and they wanted to pass on their feedback. The visitor said, “I was greeted nicely; there’s a lovely atmosphere. Staff are brilliant; [you] can tell they genuinely care. I wanted to pass on my positive comments as [care] homes get lots of complaints.”

People were placed at the heart of the home and the whole staff team was committed to putting residents first. The service had a dignity champion in place. A dignity champion is passionate about promoting people's human rights, treating people with dignity and respect; they support staff to ensure this is promoted and achieved. The advantages of having dignity champions in care are two-fold; they ensure people are treated with respect and kindness and promote a person-centered approach to care. Staff also benefit as the champions are a valuable resource; staff practice can be observed, and any bad habits or disrespectful behaviour can be challenged and rectified. Staff we spoke with were passionate about the care provided to people and explained to us how they put the company values into practice. Staff had received dementia training; this was evident in their practice. We observed and heard staff using music and song to support people’s wellbeing throughout the day. Staff described to us the training and guidance they received with regards to treating people with kindness, compassion, and dignity. These recurring themes were regularly discussed in handovers, one to one’s, team meetings and daily communications.

During our observations we observed staff to have an in-depth understanding of the people they were supporting. Staff anticipated people’s needs, dealt with people in a patient manner and treated people with kindness and care. Where residents were showing signs of upset or distress staff tried to understand why and worked with the person to reduce their anxieties, until they were settled. There was constant reassurance and encouragement from staff. One person we spoke with appreciated this and told us, “Staff know I get very anxious, and they do everything they can to take the stress out of my day.” We observed staff responding promptly, using their skills and knowledge; this was effective in providing people with comfort and reassurance. We saw lots of nice examples of staff being compassionate and supporting people with kindness and dignity; a team member bending down to provide a hug; another checking someone was ok; a third providing reassurance to a person and taking them to a safe, quiet place.

Leaders told us they routinely checked people were treated with dignity and kindness by walking the home daily, observing and listening to people’s feedback. We saw this in action throughout the inspection; the manager was very visible in the home and open to approach from people, relatives, professionals and staff.

The provider very much treated people as individuals and all members of the team were involved in this approach. The service 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.

Comments we received from people and relatives we spoke with supported this. A relative told us, “My judgement is that the staff are well trained. They handle people very well, they are friendly, patient and demonstrate that they treat everyone as individuals,” whilst a person said, “The staff are well trained; nothing is too much trouble for them. They know how to look after everyone; we all need different help.”

Comprehensive care planning information was in place to help staff to understand what was important to the person, for example, what the person liked to wear, their favourite routines, personal history, religious beliefs and the circle of people important in their lives. People and their families had the opportunity to be involved in decisions about their care and support and creating their care plans. People were supported to have choice and control and make decisions about how their support was provided.

The service was not risk averse. Risk assessments were in place to enable people to take positive risks that enabled them to live meaningful lives; people could lock their bedroom doors from the inside if they so wished and self-medicate. We saw someone going to the local shop with staff support.

We observed people’s choices were offered and decisions were respected throughout the onsite assessment. We observed how staff applied their skills and knowledge to adopt a person-centred approach that helped reduce anxiety for people. Systems and processes were in place to make sure people were treated as individuals; staff practices reflected these.

The provider was exceptional at promoting people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. The provider recognised that promoting independence in people with dementia vastly improved their quality of life. Self-esteem and emotional well-being are enhanced whilst negative feelings of frustration and agitation are reduced. Independence also helps preserve skills, maintain routines, and slows down the progression of cognitive and physical decline.

People received outstanding levels of care from staff who were kind and caring, encouraged and helped by staff to do as much as they could for themselves, to maintain their independence. Staff described to us how they encouraged people to make choices and maintain their independence. For example, by prompting the person to do as much as possible for themselves and encouraging people to join in with activities and do exercises to maintain their independence and gain new skills.

Relatives were extremely positive and grateful towards staff for the care and support they afforded to their loved ones. We heard how one person had been encouraged to walk again following a fall. Staff had worked hard in building the person’s strength and confidence to walk again with the right equipment. We contacted the relative for feedback who told us, “I feel supported as they keep me informed about [their] situation. I feel my [relative] is supported well, as now the carers are encouraging her to walk again after being in hospital. They are getting [relative] moving again.”

People told us there was lots going on in the home. One person commented, “There are activities every day. There is a cinema club, hobby afternoon, craft afternoon, dance fitness sessions. I hardly ever watch TV. I like to play cards with my friend too.” We saw lots of good examples of people creating memories with special events being held to celebrate distinct dates in the year, such as Valentine’s Day. People had been joined by their relatives or others who were important in their lives for a celebratory meal. One person told us it was the first time in years they had been able to enjoy a meal with their loved one.

There was a valued activities team on site and plans to recruit further to this. The provider had recently invested in a new electric vehicle, a 7-seater black cab. This was a new initiative, and plans were in place to use this on a regular basis, taking small groups of people out to areas of local interest and health appointments.

We saw evidence of trying to involve the community in the home. A local school visited the service and entertained people with stories, singing and activities. A local volunteer had established a knitting group; people in the home had pen pals in a school and people could post internal and external letters in a home-made post box in reception. One person liked to deliver any mail meant for people in the home. The activity co-ordinator told us how the service was integrating itself within the community; this benefited the well-being of people in the community as well as those who lived in the service. Strong relationships were forming.

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.

We saw people were supported in a timely way. We observed staff responded to call bells quickly and were responsive to people who were displaying anxiety or in distress. We heard words of reassurance and encouragement from kind and patient staff, who took time out to sit with people until they were more relaxed and calmer.

Relatives told us the service responded very well to people's needs, medical attention was sought, and pain relief administered when it was needed. People we spoke with said they got their medication for pain relief when they ask for it.

The provider always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care. Staff we spoke with were passionate about their roles, the home and the support they received from the provider.

There were numerous ways the provider demonstrated concern for the wellbeing of their staff, these being in the form of monetary incentives and reward schemes. There was financial support for staff; free food hampers for any staff who needed it during summer holidays and subscriptions for the Blue Light card scheme were funded by the provider. Employees could apply for an element of their wages early if this was needed via a mobile phone application; this app also encouraged staff to budget and save regularly. Staff were given half a day off on their birthday and reduced gym rates to promote wellbeing.

At work, staff were supported with paid breaks in a bespoke staff room on the top floor of the home, paid training and after a year in post there was a Remembering our Why? session, for staff to reflect on what they had achieved both personally and professionally during that time.

Staff were given the opportunity to nominate a colleague for making a positive impact in the service, through good practice or going the extra mile for people. The award was given to 1 member of staff per home, once a month. There was clear investment in staff as the provider recognised they were a valuable resource.