Kenilworth 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 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 requires improvement.

This meant people did not always feel well-supported, cared for or treated with dignity and respect.

This service scored 60 (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 did not always ensure people were treated with kindness, empathy or compassion, and people’s dignity was not consistently respected.

Several people told us staff did not routinely engage with them during care tasks. One person said, “They come in and put my breakfast down on the table,no hello, no good morning, nothing.” Another person told us the standard of interaction varied depending on which staff were supporting them. Some relatives also raised concerns about the level of attentiveness, with one commenting that, “Staff are lacking for general care.”

During the inspection we observed occasions where staff interactions were task focused. Staff assisted people with walking, eating or receiving drinks without speaking to them or acknowledging their feelings. This meant people did not always feel recognised or valued as individuals, and their emotional needs were not always considered as part of care delivery.

Despite these shortfalls, we also saw examples of warm and respectful interactions. Some staff addressed people by name, used gentle reassurance and created moments of positive connection. For example, one staff member sat at the same eye level as a person and hummed along to a tune the person enjoyed. Staff told us they aimed to provide compassionate care, with one explaining, “Being caring means being patient, listening, paying attention to every detail.”

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.

People and their relatives told us staff had been interested in their history and interests as well as their clinical and health needs when moving into the home. The lifestyle team had created a document to share with people and their relatives to prompt questions which informed care planning. We saw very detailed and person led care plans that reflected personal preferences, choices and what was important to people as individuals.

A profile of people and their interests, hobbies and likes and dislikes was available in their bedrooms. One staff member told us how they used this information to initiate conversations with people that were meaningful and interesting to them. They explained, “In each room we have a profile of each resident and there you can quickly see what they like or don’t like. Communication is very important, especially how you talk to someone with dementia. When you sit with them and use proper communication, they are quite good (in how they respond).” Another staff member told us, "Knowing someone is the base of knowing how to support them. If you are having a conversation with someone, you know what to talk about. It makes a huge difference."

The provider did not always promote people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing.

People’s independence and choice were not always promoted in a consistent way. Some people told us they were not routinely encouraged to make decisions about how they spent their day or supported to maintain their independence. One person told us, “They have things (activities) going on, mainly upstairs. There used to be outings, we used to go out in the town, but that hasn’t happened for months. One of the activities girls will sometimes stop by and ask if I want anything from the shops. But it’s not the same as going yourself, is it?”

Some relatives also raised concerns that people were not always supported to mobilise or access the toilet independently and felt their family member spent more time in bed than they wished. These inconsistencies meant people did not always experience care that maximised their independence or upheld what mattered to them. For example, one relative told us their family member ate better when supported to sit in the dining room, but this did not always happen unless prompted.

Despite these shortfalls, other people told us they were able to take part in activities that interested them, such as exercises, games and gently structured social events. One person said, “I join in everything, we’ve had a bit of flower arranging, exercises, badminton, you knock a ball across a table, bingo, darts, it’s good fun. Dominoes too.”

Staff told us they aimed to promote a positive and stimulating environment, and we saw a range of activities available seven days a week. The provider also promoted Namaste care, which focuses on sensory engagement and emotional wellbeing. Care staff were trained in this, to additionally support the activity team. A member of the activities team described their role as bringing, “Joy, laughter and new experiences and to break away from what people think care home life is about. You can bring so many bright and sunny days to their lives.”

Visitors were welcomed into the home, and some relatives described positive involvement in decisions about their family member’s care. An online system also enabled families to view the activities people had taken part in and to share photographs and messages.

The provider did not always listen to and understand 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.

We observed repeated occasions where staff did not respond to people in a timely way when they sought help, including a person who called out from bed several times without acknowledgement. This caused unnecessary distress and showed people’s needs were not always met.

Call bell response times were monitored by the management in the home, and action taken if responses exceeded the provider’s expectations. We observed call bells being answered promptly, however, some people did not always have access to their call bell. One relative told us, “The call bell is not left near (Name). The table is normally over there, nowhere near her.” We observed in some bedrooms, call bells were not accessible to people with reduced mobility or in wheelchairs. Some people’s care plans detailed how they were no longer able to use their call bell, and informed staff they needed to be checked more regularly.

Clinical care plans identified signs and symptoms that may indicate a deterioration in people’s health and gave staff information on how to respond.

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

Whilst some staff felt valued and supported, other staff felt their wellbeing was not always recognised. The provider acknowledged there had been a period of change for some staff who had been required to support at another service within the provider group. The registered manager demonstrated how they had engaged with staff to understand and overcome their anxieties around this.

Staff told us the provider had systems and processes to support staff wellbeing. This included an app they could access for benefits to support their physical and mental wellbeing. There was also a mental health champion to provide staff with support when they needed it. One staff member told us, “We have a mental health champion. I would speak to [Name] if I need help or stuff like that." Another staff member said, “We have a mental health champion here as well and if you are going through anything, they talk to you in private."

Some staff told us how adjustments had been made to their role to support their recovery after periods of ill-health.