Grange 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.

This is the first assessment for this service since it registered on 1 December 2020. This key question has been rated 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 had not always treated people with kindness or respected their privacy and dignity. For example, the provider had removed internal doors in 1 person’s room due to concerns about their behaviour. Staff said they had tried to use curtains to make sure the person had some privacy. However, this approach had not been successful. The provider had then failed to explore additional, less restrictive options, for example the use of screens. This meant they could not be assured they were doing all the was reasonably practicable to promote the person’s privacy and dignity. We found 2 people were restricted from having free access to toilet paper despite using the toilet independently. Whilst there were communal rooms available at the service, people’s access to these areas was restricted. There was no clear rationale about why these restrictions were in place or how they promoted the person’s dignity.

The provider did not always treat people as individuals or make sure people’s care, support and treatment met people’s needs and preferences. They did not always take account of people’s strengths, abilities, aspirations, culture and unique backgrounds and protected characteristics. At times people’s care and support was dependent on what staff were available and whether those staff could drive. People’s relatives told there were times when a lack of car drivers meant people had little opportunity to access their local community. One relative said, “What would be better is a driver on every shift and more consistency with staff.” Some relatives said they would like staff to try and get to know people better and improve communication with people. One relative said, “What would be better is if the staff could communicate more effectively with [person].”

The provider did not always promote people’s independence; people did not always know their rights and have choice and control over their own care, treatment and wellbeing. Staff were not always working in ways that ensured people were consistently supported to be as independent as they could be. For example, during our site visits we observed there were enough staff available, however people were not provided with opportunities for involvement in the preparation of their meals. There was little evidence people were working towards their goals of developing skills and independence to prepare their own food. People were offered choices of activities to do indoors but anything external to the service was dependent on drivers which were not always available. The registered manager told us recent recruitment had been successful so this would provide people more consistency with staffing. Recruitment had also focused on trying to recruit more staff who could drive to help support people access the community. We were told plans were in place for alterations to 1 person’s flat which would provide them with their own kitchen area and so increased opportunities to learn independent living skills. People could have visitors without restrictions. We also saw people often visited their relatives for weekends and overnight stays.

The provider listened to and understood people’s immediate needs, views and wishes. Staff responded to people’s needs in the moment and acted to minimise any discomfort, concern or distress. People’s needs regarding communication had been recorded and we observed staff using different ways to communicate with people. For example, staff used a ‘now and next’ method to communicate with 1 person. This helped support their anxieties. Staff spoke about people respectfully and responded to people in a timely manner.

The provider cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff. Processes supported staff wellbeing. The provider had a range of benefits such as workplace adjustments if needed and referrals to occupational health services. Staff said they had resources available, and they knew how to contact different sources of support. Staff told us they felt well supported at work and could share any concerns regarding their own health.