Pemberley Manor Care and Nursing 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

We found people were not always supported as individuals, or in line with their needs and preferences. Most people’s care plans did not contain any information about their life story and/or likes and dislikes which would help staff understand them better. This was a breach of Regulation 9 (Person-centred care) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. There were no current activities lead at the service. We observed people being treated with dignity and respect by staff.

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.

When asked if their dignity was respected one person told us, “The staff will be talking to each other when changing me like I’m not even here.” Other comments from people included, “I have been very settled here, I have found a group of friendly people, lovely place in so many ways, it is welcoming, and staff are very respectful.”

During our conversations with staff, they were able to tell us about the people they supported and their likes and preferences. Some staff told us staffing levels were impacting on the level of care they could provide to people.

One staff member commented, “Since the new provider took over, on most of my shifts there is just 1 senior and 2 care assistants. When there are residents in the lounge, 1 care assistant is expected to always remain the lounge. This leaves the other care assistant to work with 13 residents. Many residents sit in the lounge from early morning to late evening. It is extremely hard for the care assistant and the senior assistant to juggle the workload. The senior care assistant administers medications, attends to personal care, call bells, all the residents need supporting with their personal care.”

A visiting health care professional told us staff were nice to work with and caring, but they felt staff morale was very low.

There was a cheerful atmosphere in the home. We witnessed many pleasant interactions between staff and people using the service. Staff knocked on doors before entering people’s rooms and they were polite and pleasant. We heard a person calling for help. A staff member arrived quickly, greeted the person by their name and reassured them that they were okay.

One person told us, “I have only been here a couple of days, it is lovely, the staff have all been very kind.” Another person said, “Yes, the staff are lovely here, especially [staff member].” Other people told us they were not treated well by staff.

Staff were aware of the importance of providing person centred care and offering people choice in relation to their care and support and how they liked to live their lives. Staff told us they treated people how they liked to be treated themselves.

We saw staff knock on doors before entering people’s rooms. We saw staff members treating people in a pleasant and affectionate manner.

People's diverse needs and wishes were not always assessed, documented and supported by staff where required. Assessments were not always completed or did not always include, detail or document people's needs relating to any protected characteristics in line with the Equality Act. Care plans were not always individualised, or person centred and did not always record information about people's personal histories, relationships, ethnicity, sexuality, nationality, cultural preferences and religious beliefs.

People told us there were some activities at the service. One person said, “The home was waiting on an activity’s organiser, there are rather less activities now. Some carers were moved to be activities staff and are doing well although they are not trained.” Another person told us, “I did activities, but I am partially blind – the singing I go to but can’t do arts and crafts and birthday cards are a waste of my time.” A third person commented, “There is a minibus that goes out twice a month but with only 5 people at a time. I have been once in the wheelchair along with an activity’s person and a carer, the rest don’t get anything to do.”

There were no current activities lead at the service. A staff member had been taken off the floor to cover activities. The manager told us they were in the process of recruiting activities staff. They had recruited an activity lead who was going through employment checks. The activity lead would plan activities and oversee 2 activities coordinators.

We saw an activity schedule displayed on each floor of the home and a copy was given to people using the service. The acting activities coordinator told us they offered 1:1 session with those who are supported in bed. These sessions included playing games, having a chat and hand massage. They told us that every other week the home offered a trip off site. This was limited to 2 residents (one in wheelchair and one walking, however, tend to take a second wheelchair) and 2 staff members. They had visited local garden centres and Biggin Hill airport café. The home held events, such as the Halloween Ball, to raise extra funds.

We observed an ABBA sing-along which had been organised on one floor. Staff were encouraging residents to sing-along/clap to the music. Most people seemed to be enjoying it. In the afternoon, we saw a birthday celebration for one person being held in the Bistro. On our second visit to the service, we observed Halloween décor in the Bistro. The manager told us there had been a well-attended Halloween party the previous evening.

We saw that the service was well-equipped with a games room, cinema and sensory room on the top floor of the service. However, we observed throughout the duration of our assessment these amenities were not used on either day and most people were sat in communal areas either listening to music or watching the television.

The provider had a visitor’s policy in place. There were no restrictions on visitors, and we observed relatives and people visiting the service freely throughout our inspection.

There were activities plans in place. However, not all of these took place as there was no activities lead at the service. Activities on offer included an exercise class which was run once a week. This was tailored to people that attended and included seated and standing exercises. Other activities included baking, cake decorating, sing-along, bingo and knit-and-natter. A hairdresser attended the home once a week. They offered services to people which they paid for.

There was a well-furnished and comfortable cinema; the manager told us this was not currently working, and they were waiting for repair. There was also spa bathroom on every floor, but these were seen not used throughout our assessment.

One person told us, “We do not meet with managers as often as we’d like, especially with all the new changes”. A relative commented, “I wish they (managers) gave us more of an opportunity to ask direct questions, instead of in a webchat.”

The manager told us they sought people’s views through satisfaction surveys, and residents and relatives’ meetings.

We observed that staff were supporting people with their needs in a timely manner. We observed the GP attended the home to support people with their health needs.

The manager told us a satisfaction survey had recently been sent out to staff. They were waiting for responses prior to assessing the feedback and drawing up an action plan.

A staff member told us, “Sometimes staff go off sick or on holiday and sometimes staff on my floor need to go and help on other floors when they are less staff.” Another staff member told us, “The manager is new he started earlier this year we have spoken to him about our concerns, but he too is finding his feet and says everything will settle.”

Records showed that staff had not received regular formal supervision in line with the providers expectations.

We saw the minutes from staff meeting minutes held in April and August 2024. Areas covered in these meetings included, for example, safeguarding, accidents and incidents, complaints, infection control, recruitment, staff rotas and training.