Peregrine House

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 changed to Requires Improvement.

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 treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion. Nonetheless, where people required staff assistance this was not always provided in a respectful and dignified manner.

Observations on the first day of our assessment demonstrated not all people using the service were treated with respect and dignity. A person repeatedly asked staff over a 25-minute period if they could have their continence needs, products and clothes changed. The person was initially refused the chance to have their continence needs met until we intervened and became involved. The impact of this meant the person experienced a loss of dignity and sense of self-worth. Another person was supported by a member of staff to eat their breakfast over a 15-minute period. The member of staff did not verbally interact with the person and appeared disinterested in the task, placing their head in their hands and looking into the distance. The impact of this meant the staff member's non-verbal cues could undermine the person’s sense of self-worth, making them feel like a burden rather than an individual deserving of respectful support. On the second day of our assessment, people were observed to have a good rapport and relationship with the staff who supported them. The atmosphere during the assessment was seen to be friendly, reassuring and cheerful.

Although the above was not positive, people spoken with were happy with the care and support provided and told us staff were kind and provided them with good care and support. Comments from people using the service included, “The staff are all very nice” and “I find most staff okay, I have no complaints about the care I receive.” The majority of relatives confirmed they were happy with the care and support provided for their family member. Comments included, “The staff are kind and are very affectionate with the residents”, “Generally, the staff are very kind. [Name of staff member] is really lovely with the residents”, “The staff seem nice” and “A member of staff was leaving the other day and they went and said goodbye to every single resident in the lounge.”

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 life history, backgrounds and protected characteristics. This is important as this information can foster a person-centred approach to care, enhance communication between staff and the person being supported and promote the person’s wellbeing.

People’s protected characteristics under the Equalities Act 2010, such as age, disability, religion and race were identified as part of their need’s assessment where completed. Staff knew about people’s individual characteristics, for example, in relation to their preferred choice of name, ethnicity, religious beliefs.

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. However, as already cited within this report, not all people using the service received access to meaningful social activities throughout the day.

Observations on the first day of our assessment demonstrated there was a lack of social activities across the service, with an over reliance on the television. This significantly improved on the second day as the person responsible for facilitating social activities was present at the service. People were given the opportunity to participate in a 1 to 1 sensory activity during the morning and in the afternoon, many people, including family members, attended the service’s religious observance.

Not all people spoken with felt there were always sufficient social activities available at Peregrine House to meet their needs. A person told us, “No-one [staff] asks you what you want to do, you just sit here.” Another person told us, “Occasionally there are things to do, but not very much, nothing I really want to do.” Not all relatives spoken with felt there were sufficient opportunities provided for their family member to engage with social activities. Where comments were positive these included, “[Family member] loves having things to do and the staff do encourage people to join in the activities” and “[Family member] did some colouring and does join in some of the activities, the staff are very encouraging.” Where less favourable comments were recorded, relatives told us, “There isn’t really any interaction going on”, “[Family member] is a bit of a loner and chooses to be in their room mostly. If [family member] does go to the lounge, it’s just the television or radio on. I haven’t seen activities there” and “I have never seen a member of staff trying to engage with [family member], which is a shame. [Family member] just sits at the table and looks at the television.”

People were supported by staff to maintain their independence. For example, people had access to appropriate equipment, such as walking frames to help maximise their mobility. Where applicable, people were encouraged to retain their autonomy at mealtimes by eating independently or with minimal staff support. Staff confirmed that some people who were very reliant on staff for most activities of daily living, were actively encouraged to undertake some aspects of their personal care, such as washing their face and hands, and brushing their teeth, to maximise their independence.

People were supported to maintain relationships that were important to them, including family members and friends. The service supported visits for people living at Peregrine House and people were able to receive visitors without restrictions. Comments included, “They [Peregrine House] know that [family member] gets very anxious when anyone visits as they don’t know who anyone is now. They keep me informed about [family member] by phone and email” and “The family are very happy about the flexibility Peregrine House offer us with regards to visiting. Most of us work, so it’s often a visit outside work hours. We are always greeted, they [staff] know who we are.”

Staff did not always respond to people’s needs in the moment or act to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress.

As already highlighted within this report, a person repeatedly asked staff over a 25-minute period if they could have their continence needs, products and clothes changed. The person was initially refused the chance to have their continence needs met until we intervened and became involved. Staff failed to meet the person’s needs in a timely manner. The outcome of this meant the person’s discomfort, anxiousness and distress was not initially eased and relieved. Improvements were also required to ensure people using the service were supported to participate and engage in meaningful social activities. The above improved significantly on the second day of our assessment.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff to ensure staff well-being was supported and advocated.

The provider offered staff a variety of initiatives and benefits to support their mental and emotional health and wellbeing. For example, staff had access to a counselling and advice service on personal and professional matters including stress, anxiety, financial concerns and family issues. There were internal reward schemes for staff, such as, employee of the month, whereby the successful employee received a monetary voucher or flowers and ‘ad-hoc’ appreciation and celebration events were conducted.

The staff workforce at Peregrine House were diverse, including representations from a range of different cultures, ethnicities and religions. The provider confirmed appropriate arrangements were in place to recognise different multi-faith festivals and customs for staff, such as, religious observance, prayer times, fasting and supporting religious leave requests. The provider made sure their recruitment practices was accessible to all, adopting and supporting anti-discrimination and equal opportunities policies. Staff received equality and diversity training as part of their induction and ongoing development.