Royal Court

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.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained 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 treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect. People and their relatives told us they were treated as individuals, and their care was personalised.

We observed staff acting with kindness and compassion throughout the assessment. Staff told us they were happy at work and enjoyed working at Royal Court. This was evident in how well staff worked as a team to provide a positive experience for people.

People and their relatives were asked for their feedback about their care and support.

One person told us, “The carers will chat and always pop in to see me every hour to make sure I am alright.” Another person said, “The carers; there again I will say how good they are, they

always have your back if you need them. Very friendly you feel you’ve got a friend really. Nice to keep with the same staff.”

Some people who were cared for in bed did not have access to the same social stimulus as others and told us they sometimes felt socially isolated. The provider and registered manager told us they would act on this feedback and ensure people had access to one to one time if they wanted it.

The service 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 a programme events and activities to meet a range of people’s needs and individual preferences including quizzes, exercise sessions, arts and crafts, cooking and gardening. Entertainers visited regularly and provided musical/singing activities. People also had the opportunity to spend time with visiting pet dogs.

The service had access to the organisation’s minibus every Thursday. Trips to garden centres and the Willow Trust narrow boat had recently been arranged. In addition, people were able to visit other homes in the group and socialise with different people.

Peoples’s spiritual need were met with regular religious services held at the service for people who wanted to attend.

One person told us, “I like to sing when they have these things. I used to be in [name of church choir]. We have been out on visits.” Another person told us, “[I’ve] got a walker so I can walk around by myself; useful because I can walk back and forwards for exercise.”

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

The service was working towards a dementia care model that is used in Europe, to provide tailored care to people that promoted their independence and gave them more choice and involvement in their day. For example, the provider was looking to change the way they provided meals to people, this included having meals available in a ‘shop’ so people could go along with their shopping basket to choose their meal. The layout of the home was set into smaller units where people had access to their kitchenettes and they could be involved in maintaining their living environment if they wanted.

One person told us, “We are definitely given lots of choices here. There is a good menu with a good choice of food. The carer will put out a choice of clothes and I can choose what I want to wear. If I want a shower, any day, I can have one. Another person told us, “I make total choices, bedtimes, getting up, what activities I go to, never stopped from doing things.”

The service listened to and understood people’s needs, views and wishes. Staff respond to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. We observed staff and managers knew people really well and responded quickly to any requests for support. People told us staff were mostly supportive but sometimes they had to wait for staff to support. With one person telling us “If I say I’m not feeling well they get the nurse or the doctor to look at me.” Another person told us “If I say I’m in pain they do get painkillers quickly. They always check with seniors/nurses if it is ok to give them.”

People told us staff were mostly supportive but sometimes they had to wait for staff to support. Some feedback we received said people had to wait for staff to attend to them “Sometimes you have to wait; you have to have patience. I’ve a call button, night and day they come along. Sometimes there is a wait if they are caring for somebody else.” Another person told us, “There can be a long wait so I think they need more staff.”

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

The service held regular supervisions for care staff. The registered manager had an open-door policy to support people. The service had shifts to suit staff work life balance.

The service had been on a journey of improvement, staff told us the registered manager had helped to foster a positive culture within the home. The work force was stable, although there was still some use of agency staff the service used the same agency to fill gaps at short notice. The stability had greatly improved staff wellbeing.

One staff member told us, “Love it here, it’s like being at home but you get the time to do all the jobs that are on your mind.” Another said, “The customer comes first, the manager gets that. It’s a wonderful team here.”

The registered manager celebrated birthdays and special occasions, this included people and staff being part of the celebration.