Braintree Mews 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

There was a relaxed atmosphere at the service and we saw that people were freely interacting with staff. People were treated with respect and dignity and staff encouraged people to be as independent as they could be.

This service scored 55 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People and relatives were positive about the kindness shown to them by staff. A person told us, “I love it here and the staff are very good. So very kind.” Another person said, “Staff are so lovely, they are beautiful.” Their relative added, “I have found them helpful and caring.” Another relative said, “Overall I do feel the majority of staff respect my [family members] privacy and dignity.”

Staff we spoke with were positive about their relationship with people. A staff member said, “I feel happy supporting people, I want them to feel at home and give people physical and emotional support.” Another staff member said, “The residents are getting good care here and I try to work diligently.”

We observed numerous positive interactions between staff and people who used the service. On the first onsite assessment we observed a family using a private dining room to get together with their family member who lived at the service. People and relatives are able to use this onsite facility to eat together and have quality time as a family. We observed the person enjoying this with their family and waving goodbye as they left. They told us, “It was really nice to see them all.”

People’s individual needs and preferences were understood and these were reflected in their care, treatment and support. The registered manager told us how he obtained food for a person from another country so their request for the food they liked could be provided. People were supported to maintain relationships with others. People’s relatives and those acting on their behalf were not always clear about visiting arrangements. Some visitors told us they could visit at any time and others told us they were asked not to visit at mealtimes.

During the assessment we listened to staff organising a garden party for the weekend. Staff were positive about the event and wanted people and relatives to enjoy it. Staff told us they worked hard to support people and meet their individual needs, however, they sometimes found changes in staff numbers meant they had less time to sit and chat to people.

Throughout the assessment we observed staff supporting people sensitively and staff practice was positive. Staff demonstrated their awareness of people's likes and dislikes.

People received care that was individual and personalised to their needs. We saw from care records that people had care plans in place which were inclusive of people’s views and wishes. This enabled staff to support them in the way they wished to be supported to live full and active lives.

People told us they were happy with the support they received from staff and were treated well.

Staff promoted people’s independence and supported them to have control over their own care, treatment. and wellbeing.

During our onsite assessment we observed a culture where staff and people interacted positively throughout our visit. During an observation of the meal service, staff went around asking people what they would like for starters and main courses. Staff seemed to work well together to support people. One person had difficulties with hearing and staff helped to show them the options on the menu visually. On the day of our onsite assessment, we observed a range of activities available to people such as a yoga session and sensory activities. The activity programme was varied and included films in the cinema room, spa sessions, crafting, games, outings and events. Without exception people told us there was something available to do most days.

Care plans contained information for staff to promote people’s independence in areas such as mobility, communication and risk. Regular reviews were held with people and relatives to discuss any changes to care plans. People had access to a varied activity programme.

People and relatives told us they were happy with how staff responded to their requests for support. However, we did receive feedback a concern had not been responded to . This was discussed with the registered manager who took the appropriate action.

The registered manager acknowledged there was some communication barriers with healthcare professionals and senior staff required some additional support with identifying concerns and referring promptly. Management had responded positively and additional support was now in place.

Throughout our onsite assessment we observed staff responding to people promptly.

We received mixed feedback from staff in relation to the support they received and the culture at the service. A staff member told us, “I feel I can report anything and would report higher up if there was an issue with the management team.” Another staff member said, “I keep feeding my concerns back about staffing but nothing gets done.”

Processes were in place to support staff such as supervision and staff meetings. This enabled staff to have opportunities to feedback, raise concerns or make suggestions. Despite this some staff we spoke with told us staff morale was low and support needed to improve.