Pittsmead 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 service 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 using the service were treated with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

This service scored 65 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The staff treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. We observed staff delivered care and support that was kind and caring. People responded well to staff interactions and enjoyed their company. When people required support with personal care, we observed this was done respectfully ensuring people’s privacy and dignity was maintained.

Staff told us they made sure people’s dignity was respected when they supported them with their care needs. A staff member told us, “I make sure everything is private, I close the doors and curtains in people’s rooms when I help them with personal care. Some people are independent and need a little support and some people need more support. I always tell people what I am doing to help them.”

People told us staff treated them with kindness and respect. Comments included, “I find them [staff] easy to get on with and I am on first name terms with most of them. They are caring and look after me well”, “I have no complaints. They [staff] have all been very helpful and compassionate. Even the cleaner has given me a hug when I have had a bit of a teary moment”, and “On the whole I think they [staff] do care about you and do their best. Sometimes though they are rushed off their feet. They definitely need more.”

Staff treated people as individuals ensuring their care, support and treatment met their needs and preferences. One person told us, “I think they [staff] take you seriously. I think they take things on board. When I have asked them to do certain things, they have arranged them.”

Staff told us they had received training on equality and diversity, and they treated people with respect. One staff member told us, “I received training in equality and diversity, we have a diverse range of residents and workforce. No matter what age, religion, disability or sexuality I will treat everyone equally.”

We observed people were free to spend time doing the things they enjoyed. Visitors were able to visit without restrictions.

The provider did not always treat people as individuals or make sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. Care records and support plans were not always completed or detailed to take account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture, unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. Despite this people most told us staff met their individual needs. A person told us, “As soon as you mention something, they [staff] jump to it.” A relative commented, “Most of [person’s] needs are probably being met as we visit every day. I don't know how [person] would manage without this support.

There was a variety of activities to meet people’s needs and interests. The provider employed an activities coordinator who covered all floors of the service. They worked Monday to Fridays only with staff facilitating activities at weekends.

People’s comments about the activities on offer included, “We get a schedule with a list of things that are going on. The staff do encourage me to go if I want to. If I don't know where to go, they will always show me. From time to time, we get some outings. They have two vans and will take us as a group. Sometimes we go to the airport”, “They have singers who come in and outside entertainment which is good. They have activities coordinators who wear pink and lay on variousactivities”, and “There is an activities list, and it says you can do things in the lounge or in your room if you can't get down. There is knit and natter, cards and dominoes, so there are things going on. When it gets nicer, hopefully we can sit outside.”

People and relatives provided mixed feedback about how consistently staff listened to and responded to people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff did not always respond to people’s needs in the moment or act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

Throughout our assessment we observed staff were attentive and supportive when people required support, however, there was a lack of staff deployment within the service and people told us the lack of staff was their biggest concern. They said call bells were not always responded to promptly and people waited long periods at times for staff support. People’s comments included, “There are definitely not enough staff because you can call people and they [staff] don't come for ages. If I use a call button, it takes a long time. They seem to be too busy”, and “There are occasions when they [staff] are short staffed and they tell me that they are. Sometimes, I press the call bell, and nothing happens, and nobody comes.” A relative commented, “For what this place costs, I think there should be a few more staff to do the basic day-to-day stuff. I have been here when I have heard buzzing coming from other rooms, and it is the call buttons which are not being answered.”

The provider completed call bell monitoring and recorded occasions where calls exceeded its 5-minute target. The provider’s records included examples where delays were attributed to the call system not being reset promptly, and actions recorded included discussing this with staff and reminders about resetting and timely responses.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and supported and enabled staff to deliver person-centred care. Staff were supported to complete a range of training appropriate to the needs of the people they supported. A staff member told us, “I have completed all of my training, and it was genuinely helpful. My take about training is that it is very important for us to be trained because otherwise, we do not carry out tasks properly or safely. Training is the key before we go on the job, it gives confidence and also safety for the residents, and my safety as well.” Another staff member said, “I feel well supported by my immediate colleagues, but I do not feel valued for the work I do. For example, short staffed is not recognised, obviously this is our job, and we just crack on, but a thank you would be nice. A coupe of weeks ago, the provider posted a thank you on the loop system. There is employee of the month, and all staff get a chance to vote.”

We spoke with the regional director who told us the provider operated an employee of the month award with nominations made by people, their relatives, and colleagues. Prizes included a gift card and personal items such as a favourite drink, chocolates and flowers. They also told us they celebrated a cultural day in October 2025 where all staff embraced equality and diversity, and this was an excellent occasion where they celebrated how diverse the staff team are. Staff wore traditional clothing and brought in homemade traditional food for staff to try and taste.