Kingston Care Home

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• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

The service had made improvements and no longer in breach of regulations. People were better supported by staff, who treated them with kindness and compassion and respected their rights to privacy and to be treated with dignity. People received care and support from staff that treated them as individuals and made sure they had choice and control over how their care and support was provided. Staff were responsive when people became anxious or distressed and knew how to minimise risk to people in these instances to keep them safe. People took part in a wide range of activities to support their independence, health and wellbeing. The provider encouraged a culture at the service where staff wellbeing was promoted, to support staff to deliver safe, high quality care to people.

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.

People were treated with kindness and respect by a caring staff team. One person told us, “The care is marvellous. The staff are very good. They are so kind. If you want anything they get it for you…everything is done so well here.” Another person said, “They have very good staff here. Caring, if you know what I mean.” Another person told us, “The reason why I think this is a good place is because of the staff and the care that we receive…they are respectful and treat people with dignity.”

Staff demonstrated a caring, compassionate attitude towards the people they supported. Staff spoke about people in a kind and respectful way. They were aware of the need to provide people with dignified care. A staff member told us, “I always knock on people’s bedrooms doors whether they’re open or not and ask if it’s alright if I come in.” Another staff member said, “I keep the bedroom door and curtains closed whenever I’m providing people with any personal care to protect their privacy and dignity. We actually receive training in how to respect people’s privacy and dignity.”

Partners told us people were treated with kindness and compassion and their privacy and dignity was maintained. A healthcare professional said, “I have had a few clients referred and they are treated with dignity, empathy, kindness and compassion.” Another healthcare professional told us, “Kingston Care Home cares for residents with compassion, empathy and respect. Every resident feels valued and supported.” Partners said they were treated with respect by staff. A healthcare professional told us “I have not experienced any discomfort when visiting their premises. I have always been treated with respect and on several occasions, they will offer tea and water.” Another healthcare professional said they often made unannounced visits to the service and were welcomed by staff who were friendly, open and transparent.

The service had made improvements and no longer in breach of regulations. People’s preferences about how their privacy and dignity was maintained, were respected. Staff were kind, caring and respectful in their interactions with people. They knocked on people’s bedroom doors and asked for permission before entering. During mealtimes, staff sat next to people they were supporting which helped staff maintain good eye contact and engage people in conversations about what they were doing and the meal they were helping them to eat. Staff regularly checked in on people who chose to spend time in their rooms to make sure people were not left alone for long periods of time.

People’s individual needs were well understood by staff who knew what was important to people. A relative told us, “You always know when [care support worker] is on duty. My relative looks clean and shaved.”

Staff understood people’s needs and wishes and treated them as individuals. For example, staff demonstrated good understanding of what people preferred to eat and drink, and what activities they liked to engage in. Staff responsible for providing activities told us 1-2-1 support was provided to people who chose to spend time in their rooms, to do things they preferred, for example, hand massages or listening to their favourite music. This helped reduce the risk to people of becoming socially isolated.

People were relaxed and comfortable when being supported by staff. Staff checked with people how they would like their care and support to be provided. They listened to people and acted on people’s wishes to provide care and support in the way people preferred. Staff made sure people were comfortable and happy with the care and support being provided and tailored this based on people’s responses.

Systems were in place to ensure people’s individual needs were obtained, understood and met. Managers assessed, monitored and reviewed people’s care and support needs, to make sure care plans reflected people’s individual needs and preferences. People’s care plans informed staff how people’s individual needs and preferences should be met when providing people with care and support.

People had choice and control about how they wished to receive care and support from staff. One person told us, “I need a lot of support but I still have a choice in things. I never feel like I’m being forced to do anything.” People had choice about how active and involved they wished to be and had access to a wide range of activities to take part in, to support their independence, health and wellbeing. One person told us, “We do a lot of activities. That’s what keeps you going, that’s what keeps you young. It’s important to keep moving. The activity lady is marvellous. That’s her in the pink apron. We paint, colour, exercise. I like the quizzes. When they ask you things, gets your brain going. Look, here is the plan for the week. They do loads of things.” A relative said, “We need more people like [staff responsible for activities]. They are an asset to the home. Really they are brilliant. They go above and beyond to keep people here entertained and involved. They keep people alert. They take people out. They do all sorts.”

Managers and staff understood people should be able to make informed choices and decisions about the care and support provided by staff. A staff member told us, “We do encourage everyone who lives here to make choices about what they eat, drink, wear and do. For example, we might use photos to help people decide what they would like to eat for their meals and I always show someone a selection of clothes in the morning, so they can pick what they would like to wear each day.” Another staff member said, “We always have a meat, fish and vegetarian option at mealtimes for people to choose between. If people don’t fancy any of these dishes the chef is always happy to make a jacket potato, sandwich or salad for anyone who requests it.” Staff told us people’s care plans gave them a good overview of people’s differing dependency levels so they knew exactly what people were willing and capable of doing safely for themselves and what tasks they would need additional help with from staff.

Staff offered people choice about how they would like their care and support provided. Staff listened to people and acted on their stated choices and preferences, which ensured people maintained control and independence over how their care and support was provided.

Systems were in place to ensure people’s choices and decisions informed how their care and support should be provided. Managers assessed, monitored and reviewed people’s care and support needs, and used information about people’s likes and dislikes, their preferred routines and how they wished to spend their day, to plan people’s care and support. People’s care records informed staff, when providing care and support, to seek people’s consent, offer choice, and support people to do as much as they could and wanted to do for themselves.

People were supported by staff who understood their needs and preferences and knew how to minimise risk of any discomfort or distress people might experience.

Staff understood how people should be supported in line with their needs and preferences. They were able to explain the strategies they followed on how to do this so that discomfort or distress to people was minimised.

Staff took appropriate and prompt action on several occasions to prevent incidents occurring when people became upset and distressed. For example, we saw a staff member take their time to calmly and respectfully talk to a person who was becoming distressed about where to sit at lunch. The staff member remained kind and professional throughout and safely managed to give the person enough reassurance, to deescalate this potential challenging situation.

Staff told us managers helped them to feel happy and safe at work. A staff member said, “All the managers that work here are so supportive. [Registered manager] is the best manager I have ever had working in care.” Another staff member told us, “The manager is always in the care home and is so approachable and easy to talk to. He’s why so many staff are now happy to work here and staff turnover is so low, which never used to be the case.” The registered manager understood the importance of staff wellbeing and how this impacted on the delivery of care and support to people. They told us, “It’s about being open and supporting staff to open up if they have issues. For example, a staff member wanted time off due to personal issues and we came up with a flexible working plan to support them. It’s about knowing staff and making adjustments when needed.”

The provider ensured staff had access to systems to support their wellbeing. Staff were signposted to the employee benefits platform and assistance programme which they could contact at any time for confidential advice about personal or work issues that may be impacting their work performance and wellbeing. Managers used supervision, to identify and deliver the support staff needed to help them undertake their roles effectively. In response to results from the most recent staff survey, the provider had improved the employee recognition scheme to include wider coverage, acknowledgment and reward of staff’s contribution in the delivery of high quality care to people.