Egerton Manor 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 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 living at the home told us staff were kind and caring towards them. One person told us, “From what I have seen up to now they seem to be very kind.” Another person said, “Absolutely, they are kind and friendly.” A third person added, “I think they are caring, they help you if you need them.”

Relatives spoken with during the assessment told us they were also happy with the care provided at the home. One relative said, “The care is excellent, but it is the whole life experience of living here that makes quality of life good.” Another relative said, “At the moment the home provides the care that we, as a family, could not possibly do, 24/7. This is the care all people needing care should have. It is an example to all.”

People living at the home were complimentary about the standard of care provided. One person said, “They don't come better than the staff here. They are like friends who take care of me. I love all the things we get to do. There is never a sad day.” Another person said, “I am well looked after. I can have a bath when I want one. We have some lovely days out and there is always something to do if you want to. The choice is yours.” A relative added, “The staff work very much as a team to provide excellent care. Because the staff work well together this produces good outcomes for the resident. They could not be kinder and more caring.”

We observed people looking smart and well presented. People’s clothes were clean, and their hair was well groomed. Records completed by staff showed people received support with their oral hygiene if this was required. Some people required support with tasks such as nail care and shaving, although we found gaps in some people’s personal care charts where this hadn’t been completed.

People were treated with dignity and respect and the registered manager told us this formed part of the interview process when staff first applied for the role. For example, asking staff about how they would support people with their personal care routines and what steps they would take to always ensure people’s dignity. One relative told us, “[Person] is fully supported all day with their care. [Person] is incontinent, and the staff always check [them] on a regular basis. [Person] is always fresh and clean. I visit every day so I can see [person’s] care first hand. I would say that quality of life is brought to the residents by the staff.”

Confidential records were stored safely. This included people’s care plans which were password protected on electronic devices. Staff personnel records were stored securely within the registered managers office.

The registered manager told us about the importance of ensuring people were supported with their emotional well-being and enjoyed speaking with people living at the home each day during daily walkarounds. This enabled them to build a good rapport with people and speak with them about aspects of their social lives and what they enjoyed doing.

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.

At the time of our inspection, nobody living at the home was from a different cultural background and people’s ethnicity was predominantly white British. However, several members of staff worked at the home via sponsorship licences and had visas in place to be employed in the UK.

The home supported people with their religious needs, with a church near the home which people could access as needed. Requests could be made to priests from the church to visit the home, or if this was to support someone receiving end of life care. People’s social requirements were met, and people were able to go out into the local community, although this tended to be with staff support. One person had recently visited a local memorial site as part of VE Day celebrations, which was only a short distance from the home.

People were supported with their communication needs as required. At the time of this inspection, English was the first language of people living at the home, although an interpreter and advocacy services could be requested as required. People’s communication requirements were detailed in their care plans, as well as any aids such glasses or hearing devices. Where required we saw people wearing these during our inspection.

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 supported to maintain their independence. We saw people were able to be as independent as possible with tasks such as mobilising around the home, eating their own meals and using the shared facilities. One relative said, “It's not easy for [person] to accept they are losing their independence, but the home does small things with [them] like being there when eating but allowing them to feed themselves. The same with drinks by using special cups or just a straw. My faith in care has been restored at this home. I can't tell you how quick the home is to respond to problems because I have none.”

Relatives and friends were able to visit people throughout the day. Some family members wished to support people to eat and drink and this was easily facilitated by staff at the home. There was plenty of space for people to spend time with their loved ones such as in bedrooms, communal areas and balcony areas. People were supported to maintain relationships, including couples who had moved into Egerton Manor having lived together previously. Everybody’s birthday was celebrated with a card and cake if this was what they wanted. The home also held remembrance events for people who had passed away whilst living at the home.

The home employed an activities coordinator and several assistants who formed part of the ‘wellbeing’ team. People had a range of activities to choose from with themes including art, exercise, music and reminiscence. Regular trips out into the local community were also facilitated to local cafes, museums and garden centres. Trips to Knowsley Safari Park and the local Smithills Farm had also taken place. Occasions such as Easter and Halloween were celebrated, and people had enjoyed dressing up recently when celebrating VE day. People’s preferred choices of activities were sought through regular residents' meetings, and an activities forum was also held each month, with staff and people.

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 observed people were responded to straight away when they requested support. For example, we saw 2 members of staff supporting a person to walk from their bedroom to a comfy chair in the lounge area. Staff used various distraction techniques to intervene when verbal altercations took place between people living at the home. This was done by speaking with the person about their previous employment and escorting them away to another part of the home to ask if they would like to help with a particular task, which appeared to work well.

Where people’s health concerns required to be escalated to specialist health agencies, this was done in a timely way. We observed a meeting taking place between the registered manager and heads of department in the home such as kitchen/maintenance staff, as well as nurses and senior care assistants. This provided the opportunity to discuss actions required relating to people’s care and if referrals needed making to any other agencies.

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

The provider and registered manager used several different initiatives to ensure staff wellbeing was upheld. ‘Wellbeing Wednesday’ took place each week and provided a focus on topics including the importance of regular breaks, signs of burnout and to celebrate the hard work of staff. This was often done by ‘weekly treats’ such as having a cheese and wine to acknowledge national cheese day which had taken place recently. This also presented an opportunity for staff to speak with the registered manager about any concerns impacting their work in more of a social setting. A ‘Wellbeing app’ was also available on staff mobile phones if they required support in any certain areas. ‘Golden tickets’ were also used where other staff, relatives and people could place a vote for a particular member of staff who had gone above and beyond when delivering care.

At the time of this inspection the home did not use agency staff, or volunteers. Instead, there was a pool of bank staff available if there were any staff shortages and if gaps on rotas needed to be filled; this ensured continuity of care as people were familiar with the staff who supported them.

Due to the number of staff often in the building throughout the day, lone working for staff did not take place. The registered manager said staff were often reminded of the importance of building security and asking any visitors to show identification and use the signing-in book in the reception area.