Esmere Gardens

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 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 told us they were treated well, and they expressed confidence in the skills and abilities of the staff. We observed interactions between people and staff were unrushed, kind, genuinely caring and respectful. Staff were skilled in knowing people’s preferred way of being supported and adapted this accordingly. We saw staff escorting people on their journey around the service, usually standing beside them, or slightly behind and applying a gentle hand of assurance. One staff member said, “We have allocation every day, so it varies and we care for everyone. Our goal is to know all the residents. I know them all. I know all their preferences.”

We observed without exception, that people were appropriately dressed and wearing clean or recently laundered clothes. Staff spoke about how they supported people whilst maintaining their privacy and dignity. One staff member said, “When giving personal care close the door, shut the curtain, ask for permission to touch, introduce yourself, explain and ask permission.” One healthcare professional said, “The staff are very friendly and helpful, they are happy to help when needed and are very welcoming and warm.” One person said, “I just feel blessed to be living here. I can still see many of my friends too, they come to visit me, I always feel happy and don’t worry.”

Most people praised the staff for the care and support they received and told us staff listened to how they wished to be cared for. Occasionally some people said the level of care could vary but it was never unkind. Comments from people and their relatives included “I was asked if I wanted a male or female carer”, “[Name of staff] is really good, he does the shaving and he clearly loves being a carer” and “It is lovely that they [staff] are so very caring. I have great admiration for their patient care, I have never heard any of them complain and all of them have a good nature.”

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.

The service provided opportunities for people to engage in meaningful activities that were of interest to them. This had included events such as, jazz and wine tasting, bridge club, gardening and trips out including to the steam museum. There is a daily ‘sparkle activity’ which can be a quiz, singing or game that people are encouraged to join in. We observed this activity and saw that the activity lead knew people well, however there was a lot of people in attendance for 1 person to engage. The registered manager told us the advert was out for another activity member of staff.

The feedback about activity provision was positive. People and their relatives told us, “The difference here is the level of engagement for (relative name) it has made him feel more engaged and mentally bright.” and “(Activity staff member) is very good with him and she ensures he goes along to some events, especially those he likes. There is a singer here tomorrow and he will be taken to that. I have noticed that if he is awake, they [staff] don’t like to leave him alone in his room.”

People were supported to maintain relationships that were important to them. The home was open to people’s family and visitors, and we saw people enjoying visits throughout our inspection. One person said, “I do go along to some events, as and when I feel like it. I still have lots of friends in Moreton, no week goes by without some of them visiting.”

Staff demonstrated respect and awareness for people’s individual needs. Staff told us, “Respect and understand everybody’s preferences. I always read the care plan. From time to time the manager or nurses update it. If you have a day off or holiday you need to read it again, it’s mandatory” and “We get to meet new people and listen to their stories, it’s a lovely place to work.”

The activity lead had been nominated for a care award; they had taken time to find out about people’s individual interests and set up clubs specifically to meet these. One staff member said, “[Activity staff member] does an amazing job, there is enough for people to do and its different every day, they went hedgehog hunting yesterday.”

People’s cultural and religious preferences were respected and encouraged. A few people had close links with local churches, and 1 person said, “I am a committed Christian. My church is important to me, the church people come to pick me up and take me to services.” People who had interests in particular TV shows had access to additional channels and subscriptions. People commented, “I am a TV watcher, I have [TV Subscription name] and that means I can record programmes and watch them later” and “Last night my team were playing, and it was on [Channel name] and I watched them win. A (male) carer came to sit and watch it with me.”

However, the service did not currently have transport that could accommodate people in wheelchairs. One relative said, “The difficulty is to get the right transport for visits out from the home, it is difficult to get transport large enough to cater for several wheelchair residents and the carers that are needed.” We raised this with the provider who stated there were contingencies in place, so nobody was disadvantaged by not being able to go out. This included access to a suitable vehicle that they could use on occasions and an adapted taxi.

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 maintain their independence where able and aided by staff if they needed extra support. Several people who were not independently mobile told us about multiple occasions where staff had supported them to access the gardens or spend time outside of the home. People were able to move freely around the service and there was a lift to go between the floors. One person said, “I get help to wash and dress and to have a shower. I can have a shower whenever I ask.”

Staff we spoke with understood the importance of promoting people’s independence commenting, “I encourage our residents to be independent by letting them do as much as they can for themselves. I give clear guidance, provide choices, use prompts instead of taking over as needed” and “Encourage them, 1 of our values is to empower people and let them do it on their own if they can.”

We observed the lunchtime experience for people and saw most people chose to have lunch in the dining room, but a few people chose to eat in their bedrooms. There was always a variety of hot and cold drink options available to people, and tables were set up nicely with condiments. Staff were available to support people with their meals where required. People told us they enjoyed the standard of food provided, commenting, “I can say that I like the food, the portions are usually very generous too” and “They are always providing me with apple juice and cake. They always say that I should take my time eating the cake and I find I do let it sit there for some time and then at some point someone will come in and say, you haven’t eaten it yet.”

People had choices available to them about where to spend their time. The service offered several lounges and a bistro area for people to enjoy a drink and relax with visitors, and this ensured that if 1 area was busy, there was a quieter space people could spend their time in.

However, we did find that people did not always remember their meal choice, having made it the previous day. There were no prompts available to remind them of the options available. During our visit, we had to support 1 person who did not like the look of their meal to raise this to a staff member who had not provided an alternative. The kitchen staff told us they were always happy to provide people with a different option, and they were working on producing menu aids to support people’s choices.

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.

The service had technology aids to support staff to respond quickly to people when required. Staff were responsive to call bells ringing and ensuring people received assistance when needed.

Staff spoke confidently about recognising changes in people’s health and wellbeing to respond in a timely way. One staff member said, “We had 1 person who went to hospital, she seemed unwell. I saw her in the morning and monitored her, she was sleepy, and I did observations and then called an ambulance. We act quickly to help them. If it doesn’t need a quick response we discuss with the GP. We make that assessment.”

People told us they were supported with pain relief if they experienced headaches or other pains. Relatives felt confident their family members’ needs would be met appropriately. One relative said, “Everyone here is completely on the ball, anything you might think about has already been thought of and been done.”

Health and social care professionals told us staff responded well to meet people’s needs commenting, “They [staff] are very quick to chase if a resident has any changes indicated by the GP, any information requested is always provided, so I would say their information is up to date” and “One particular patient needed specialist input for a condition and this was raised promptly and referred.” One staff member talked about receiving training to recognise early signs of changes in people saying, “I monitor people's health by observing any changes each time I visit them such as mobility, skin condition, behaviour or appetite. Because I see them regularly I notice small changes quickly which helps keep them safe and well. We have training about recognising deterioration, pressure ulcers and urinary tract infections.”

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

The provider demonstrated a caring approach towards the staff team and implemented support mechanisms to meet their needs. This included enabling some staff with caring responsibilities to work more flexibly, access to a separate staff room with changing rooms and providing a hot meal on working shifts for all staff.

Staff were given the opportunity to participate in rewards. This included a profit share after working in the company for a period of time and attendance rewards. The registered manager spoke about the staff awards night, in which 1 of their staff had been put forward and recognised. The registered manager told us the management team make a point of highlighting staff that have done well each week.

Staff told us they were well supported within their role and this had a positive impact on their work commenting, “I think I would be listened to, workload is manageable, they have been amazing supporting flexible adjustments”, “Workload is manageable, I am supported by managers” and “I have time, I never rush my work; I start my medicines administration and care plans first; I manage my work well.”