Dorking Manor

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 70 (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 happy living at Dorking Manor. They said staff were kind and caring. They told us, “The staff are lovely. Really warm and friendly. I am respected and they do listen to me”, “some of the staff are excellent. Most of them are kind and they are respectful”, “They are very nice and they seem to know me” and “The staff are kind and caring.”

We observed acts of kindness from staff which included asking 1 person if they wished a blanket when they lay down on a sofa, gently stroking the arm of another person when giving them their drink and saying, “Hi sunshine, here is your drink” and telling a third person how much they liked their jumper whilst encouraging them to walk unaided into the lounge.

Staff displayed a dignified approach as they always sat down beside people or crouched down to their level, rather than speaking over people. This included where the district nurse needed to see 1 person. A staff member discreetly told the person the nurse was there for them and asked if they could accompany them to their room.

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.

Staff recognised people’s individuality. People’s rooms were personalised to their tastes and each person had a memory box outside of their room in which they could place items that meant something to them and helped them identify their room.

During the morning, music was playing in the lounge areas and staff chose music relevant to people or invited people to make their own choice. This included football themes which was followed by people talking about their favourite football team.

Staff used immersive technology to help 1 person reconnect with a significant and meaningful part of their past. This provided an opportunity to revisit an important life experience and share these with others.

Other people followed specific diets which included egg free, diary free, lactulose free and pureed. Staff ensured they received their appropriate meal at lunch time in line with their needs.

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

Although people were supported and encouraged to retain their independence. For example, 1 person had a key to their bedroom and used this to lock their door when leaving the room. Some people felt they were losing their independence as we were told, “I’d like to do more here, but they won’t let me do it. They’re worried you might fall”, “You lose your independence in a place like this. They tend to get you up very early. Sometimes I want to be left in bed for longer” and “They (staff) choose the time to get me up in the morning. They have their routine to follow. They choose my clothes too.”

Drawers and cupboards in people’s rooms were easily accessible for people with dementia. Lounge areas were arranged in clusters with a range of different types of seating, so people could choose which suited them the best and there was large, covered patio areas where we saw people sitting when they wished from fresh air.

People chose where they wished to sit when coming into the dining room and throughout the day we observed people making their own choice in where they wished to spend their time. This included staying in their room, sitting in lounge areas or meeting with people in the bistro area.

One person told us, “I stay in my room a lot but that’s my choice. I don’t really need staff a lot. I don’t rely on anybody. They leave me to myself and I prefer that.”

Staff gave minimal assistance to encourage independence. One staff member told us, “We have [person’s name] who we need to help them to eat and drink but I will ask [person] if they can do it by themselves. I will put the fork in [persons] hand. It’s good for the muscles and brain and to remember the habit of movement. It’s good for them.” Another staff member said, “We need to promote, helping them too much is not helping them. Slowly I realised I wasn’t doing them good and to encourage them to do it by themselves.”

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 staff attend to people when they required it. This included when 1 person coughed after drinking. This was immediately responded to by a staff member. Another person asked a staff member if they could have a handkerchief for their relative and this was provided to them. A third person was escorted back to their room when they requested this from staff.

Call bell audits were completed in the service. These showed a good level of response times from staff when people rang their bell.

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

The provider cared about their staff and offered easily accessible support and guidance. The registered manager was a mental health first aider and the provider had recruited a wellbeing coach. There was an external entity in which staff could access whistleblowing guidance, counselling, financial support and other types of advice.

Staff were known as ‘homemakers’ and they did not have their positions on their badges. We were told, “Staff do everything and our values and way of working if for people first. This methodology shows people that everyone is on the same level.”

There was recognition for the staff team through an annual care award event where staff could be nominated by people and colleagues and there was appreciation for long-service and staff retention.

A staff member told us, “I love my manager. They are very supportive. I am very happy; I can go to the team leaders and ask questions. I don’t feel any negatives from anyone here. The staff here, they are really hard working staff and I really like that.”