Coundon Manor 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 of this service under this new provider. This key question has been rated 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. People appeared relaxed with staff interacting with them and staff ensured bedroom doors were closed when assisting people with personal care. During our inspection we observed occasions when staff responded to people in a meaningful way, offering reassurance and comfort. For example, 1 person was standing by a window and expressed concern to a staff member that a stranger could climb through it. The staff member immediately gave the person visual and verbal assurance the window did not fully open and that they were always checked at night. The person responded by linking their arm with the staff member and saying, “Oh I do feel better now, thank you.” Another person had dropped the biscuits they were eating. A staff member discreetly tidied up the crumbs while they were talking to the person and then brought them another plate of biscuits. A visiting relative gave an example of the caring nature of staff and told us, “A carer who was off duty rang to see how [Name] was a couple of weeks ago. They absolutely understand everything about her.” A member of staff commented, “I would be very happy for my family to live here. It’s a good place and I know they would be looked after.”

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. The registered manager recognised people’s culture and religion was an integral aspect of their being and that this was reflected in their daily lives. They gave an example of dressing a person in clothes that did not reflect their cultural beliefs. The registered manager said, “Are you depriving them of their liberty? Well yes you are because you are depriving them of the right to dress as they want. We give people the time, the effort and respect and make them feel as valued as we can. It matters to them what their history is because it becomes part of their character." We observed occasions when staff used their knowledge of people to promote people’s wellbeing. For example, 1 person was sitting alone in a corridor with their head down. A passing staff member stopped, knelt by the person’s side and asked, “Would you like me to get you a magazine. I know you like to look at them?” The staff member returned with a selection of magazines and the person chose 1. This had a positive impact on the person as they became more engaged looking through the magazine. Another staff member explained how they had an inclusive approach to celebrating different religious and cultural festivals throughout the year. They told us, “This is really important because our residents have different beliefs and religions. We celebrated Diwali and Chinese New Year. Everyone joins in and gets to share other residents’ special days.”

The provider promoted people’s independence, so people knew their rights and had choice and control over their own care and wellbeing. Staff understood the importance of independence and choice for people. One staff member told us, “Some residents can’t do much for themselves but even if they whirl the flannel on their face, they feel better because they are more independent.” Another said, “We always offer the residents choices. What they want to eat and when they want to get up. Some residents like a lie in, others like to get up, but this can change day by day, so we always ask. We are here to do what the residents want.” During our inspection we observed people making choices about how they spent their day. When 1 person expressed a wish to go to their room to lay on their bed, staff supported this. Two staff were observed supporting and encouraging 1 person to walk independently. The person slowly stood up and with verbal encouragement from both staff walked several steps without support. The person had a big smile, and the staff member responded positively and said, “You’ll be up and about again in no time.” Processes to support people to maintain choice and control in their lives included unrestricted visiting and care plans containing information about people's lifestyles and preferences. People were given information about planned activities so they could choose which ones they wished to engage in. The activities co-ordinator explained, “On admission a member of the activities team spends time with people completing a ‘Getting to know you’ document. We use this to learn what people like to do and what they are interested in, old hobbies or new things to try. Then we work out how to add it to our activities.” People generally expressed satisfaction with activities in the home. Comments included: “The activities ladies are absolutely excellent, I enjoy it, there’s lots of entertainment” and “The activities team are amazing, they give her a purpose in life.”

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 worked in a way to minimise risks of causing discomfort, concern or stress to people. Staff worked with a calm approach, speaking calmly and quietly with people, making suggestions to them rather than directing them what to do. People told us staff were generally responsive if they requested assistance or support. One person told us, “When I ask to be repositioned, they come and do it. I use my call bell when needed and generally the response time is good, very occasionally I’ve waited half an hour.”

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 felt valued and supported by the management team. One staff member told us, “The manager is very supportive and has helped me with personal issues.” Another staff member commented, “I feel very supported. I have had 2 meetings with the manager since being here for a month.” The provider had processes to recognise staff achievement with ‘employee of the month’ and ‘employee of the year’. Where a need was identified, the registered manager could refer staff to an occupational therapist to support their role within the workplace.