Blandford Grange Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

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 made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

The provider had systems in place to ensure people were involved in planning and reviewing their support as much as they were able and wanted to be.

Relatives and those important in people’s lives were involved in planning and reviewing support where people wanted or needed them to be.

A healthcare professional told us, “Staff will often be able to gauge more subjective or subtle changes, for example, the level of confusion and changes in [a person’s] function. Contracture identification and management sometimes seem to have a slower response at times, perhaps because changes can happen slowly.” When we informed the provider of this, they told us staff had received online training in supporting people with contractures, however they sourced further training to be completed imminently.

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

People told us there were regular staff, which was important to them, in order to provide the care and support they needed. Staff worked closely with other services and professionals to ensure people received co-ordinated and consistent support which met their individual needs.

A healthcare professional told us, “Staff worked hard to encourage and facilitate a resident to sit out in a care chair so that he could engage in group activities and spend time in communal areas of the home. This in turn has significantly reduced his challenging behavior which was exacerbated by anxiety and feeling alone or isolated.”

We saw a variety of activities on offer and staff encouraged people to participate. Comments from relatives included, “They’ve had pets in to visit and they take them round the rooms so no one misses out.” And “The activity ladies do 1-to-1 visits for people in their bedrooms”. A monthly residents activity meeting is held to discuss ideas and suggestions for future activities, such as themed days, trips out and day to day activities in line with peoples’ interests.

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

People’s communication needs had been assessed and planned for. Care plans described people’s preferred methods of communication. This described how people would indicate they were in pain or discomfort.Information was available in the form of a ‘grab sheet’ if required in the case of an emergency. These provided important information about the person that was passed onto medical staff.

The registered manager and staff understood and followed legal requirements related to protecting and sharing people’s personal information.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result.

The provider had policies and procedures in place which guided people about to how to make a complaint. These documents were available in a range of formats so everyone could access them. Records showed complaints were dealt in line with the policy and compliments were shared with the staff team. The registered manager had recently shared the findings of an accident and incident audit they had carried out. Staff told us they were informed of this as it identified some areas of improvement and lessons learned.

Records showed people were involved in regular meetings to discuss, for example, menus, events and any changes in the service.

Compliments were gathered and feedback recorded. Surveys were completed with people, relatives and professionals and results summarised. Feedback was all positive with comments including describing staff as ‘fabulous’ and ‘always informed of any changes’ regarding their loved one.

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

Staff clearly understood people’s needs and the barriers they may face accessing external services. For example, people had health passports which set out how they communicated and how their support needs should be met. This enabled other professionals to provide care and treatment in a more accessible and person-centred way.

Out of hours support was in place, covered by the management team to ensure staff always had access to support.

Audits of calls bells showed they were responded to in a timely way.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

The registered manager and staff worked to ensure people received the support they were entitled to and which supported their rights in line with the Equality Act (2010). Records showed people’s support was personalised and took account of all aspects of their life.

People were supported to access the community and participate in everyday life or received one-to-one activities if they preferred. Care staff had undertaken equality, human rights and diversity training. Staff, people and family members did not identify any concerns about discrimination.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

The registered manager and staff were aware of the importance of supporting people to plan for their future.Most people had end of life care plans which detailed their arrangements and preferences. There was no one receiving end of life care at the time of our assessment.

Care plans contained information if people had a do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) document. Information was available to support people should an emergency hospital admission be required. People were supported at the end of their life by staff who had been trained to do so, and who knew them well.