Cow Lees 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.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good.

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 always treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion and respected their privacy and dignity. Staff treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

A staff member told us about the relationships they had built with the people they cared for and said, “I am loving it. It’s the best job for me because I make connections with the residents [people].” Staff knew people well. We saw staff used this knowledge when caring for people. For example, by spending time with people doing things which interested them, such as dancing. This brought people unexpected moments of happiness. Staff encouraged people from different units to spend time together doing things they enjoyed. One staff member said some people from other units, “Come along for a sing along.” The staff member explained it gave people in their unit the chance to, “Make different friends and the chance to get to know them.” A nurse told us, ”We have two activity staff and they also do activities on the weekends. This includes reading clubs acquire and quizzes. We are holding a cheese and wine evening soon.”

A staff member said people also had opportunities to listen to music, play dominoes, do colouring and reading, cross words, book club, noughts and crosses and garden club. During our visit we saw people and relatives sitting under the gazebo at the front of the house enjoying biscuits and a drink, spending time together.

We asked 1 member of staff what being a good member of care staff meant to them. They responded, “Somebody who is outgoing, happy, confident and talkative and who likes to talk to them and do activities with them.” One person was not able to speak English. A staff member told us how they had learned some phrases in the person’s native language to enable them to communicate with the person. They described this with empathy and understanding and explained, “[Name] must be really confused not understanding what people are saying so it is nice to have somebody who will actually communicate with [Person].” We observed staff treating residents with kindness, compassion and dignity. Staff were gently guiding residents or holding their hand when residents were walking through the communal areas. We observed staff encouraging residents to come for lunch.

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’s care plans gave information about what could cause people anxiety or distress and the signs and strategies to follow to prevent or mitigate that distress. One staff member explained the importance of recognising each person’s uniqueness and character. They told us, “It is getting to know people individually and as a person and know what their interests are and getting them doing what they enjoy doing to make them happier.” One staff member said they knew people’s past professions which helped them talk to people about topics they knew and were confident in talking about. Staff understood peoples’ individual needs and preferences, and these were reflected in their care plans. We reviewed care records and resident information folders. Staff completed ‘About Me’ documents with people and their loved ones. Staff completed a document with people’s likes and dislikes, including whether they preferred individual or group activities and their bedtime routines.

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

A staff member told us, “We encourage them to do [wash] their face themselves if they can.” A nurse told us people other than those nursed in bed were able to choose to when to spend their time in their rooms, for example in the afternoons. A staff member said, “Bedrooms are not locked in the afternoons. We would not just [let people] go up, we would go up with them.” They also said they would check on people during the time they were upstairs to check they were okay. Through staff conversations we were again told by staff that people could go into the grounds, but only with staff with them. When we asked why and how this may take away people’s choices and control, most staff said, “Management have said this.” Staff told us there was a regular programme of activities to ensure people had opportunities for enjoying themselves and participating in engagement that was meaningful to them. For example, on the morning of our inspection some people enjoyed a sing a long in a communal area of the home. In the afternoon, some people sat together folding laundry ready to be ironed. Another person had their nails painted. Information about planned activities was displayed within the home and people could chose what they wanted to participate in . One staff member commented, “Things they did in their life at home, they can still do here.” People had visitors from their friends and family whilst using the service. We saw relatives visiting their loved ones whilst we were on site. We saw evidence of family involvement in people’s care records reviewed. Families were invited to join in with activities at the unit, for example, singalongs and for Christmas dinner.

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.

Staff raised no concerns about this and felt there was enough staff. Staff told us on occasions they had to support people and time pressures were felt, nursing staff would work the floor with them to help meet people’s needs. Staff always maintained a presence in the communal areas of the home. This meant staff were able to respond quickly to people’s requests for support of if they demonstrated any signs of anxiety or distress. We observed staff responding to peoples’ needs. For example, staff noticed a person needed a drink and quickly brought this. Staff were encouraging a person to get up from a chair in the lounge and come for lunch in the dining area. The person started to become agitated, and staff stood back and agreed to leave them for 10 minutes before trying again.

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

Staff told us they were supported to provide good care and their own needs were met. One staff member told us this was through supervision with their line manager. The staff member said, “My senior does my supervision. She helps me to work here and is lovely.” The staff member gave examples showing how their work life balance needs were met as they were able to change their shift patterns to meet their needs. The staff member said, “It’s easy to pick and swop shifts, they are flexible.” Another staff member told us they had been supported well by leadership in the home during a recent bereavement and said senior staff and the registered manger spent time chatting with them and supporting them. A general comment from staff was, “Training here is good.” Staff told us they felt supported by their peers and by the management team. One staff member told us, “Everyone is helpful.” Another commented, “If I need advice, I will ask and they are always there.” People were supported by staff who felt valued by their leaders and their colleagues. We spoke with staff who all told us they were well supported and loved their job. We saw staff breaks were allocated on the daily allocation sheet. Where required, the provider planned shifts and work patterns with staff’ personal preferences as a consideration.