• Care Home
  • Care home

Maplewood Court Care Home

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Northumberland Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 7TA (01622) 427490

Provided and run by:
Oakland Opco B Limited

Report from 19 June 2024 assessment

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Caring

Good

Updated 2 September 2024

People were supported by very kind and compassionate staff. They were treated with respect and dignity. People’s independence was promoted wherever possible, and their choices and wishes were respected to ensure people had maximum possible control over their care and treatment whilst living at Maplewood Court Care Home. People’s needs were met in a timely manner by a positive staff team who felt their own well-being and skills were enhanced by the service.

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.

Kindness, compassion and dignity

Score: 3

People were very positive about the staff. One person said, “Marvelous, never grumble, they are terrific.” Another said, “Wonderful they are not condescending, are always respectful so I feel comfortable and relaxed when they are caring for me...They never make me feel uncomfortable and ensure I am treated with dignity and respect.” A relative said, “Superb feel like a family not carers.” Another relative shared, ‘Staff are endlessly patient, kind and helpful and nothing is too much trouble.’

Staff told us the service was caring, staff treated people with kindness, compassion, dignity and respect. One staff member said, “Make sure residents are treated with respect and dignity at all times. I treat them the way I want my loved one to be treated.” Another said, “The team are amazing and supportive, everyone is kind towards one another and the care for our residents is outstanding.”

Health and social care professionals told us the service was caring. One professional shared, “Any interactions I have seen have been friendly, courteous and caring.” Another professional fed back, ‘The manager is extremely caring towards staff and residents.’

We observed all staff chatting and being respectful to residents and to each other during our visit to the service. We saw staff supporting people’s and their visitors’ well-being compassionately. Staff were knocking on people’s bedroom doors before entering and closed them before personal care was given to respect people’s privacy and maintain their dignity.

Treating people as individuals

Score: 3

People were treated as individuals by staff who knew them well. People were able to be involved in their care to the level they desired, and their preferences were respected by staff. People’s comments included, “They know me well.” and “I have a routine and they know how I like things done.” A relative shared that the service provided, ‘Excellent personal care.’

Staff told us they treated people as individuals respecting people’s wishes and preferences such as where people wanted to be. A staff member shared, ‘The kitchen staff always listen to each individual’s likes and dislikes. Staff told us people’s cultural and religious needs were respected and supported, for example, being supported to practice their faith.

We saw people received individualised care during our visit to the service and were treated as individuals. Staff adjusted their approach when speaking with different people. For example, whether they used touch when interacting with people or speaking at different volumes. People’s rooms were personalised to everyone’s taste with their own items around them, and it looked very homely. People had memory boxes outside their rooms which had personal mementoes relating to them inside, which helped people identify their rooms and help them to feel at home.

The assessment and care planning processes supported people to be treated as individuals. This included identifying people’s protected characteristics such as cultural and religious needs or disabilities and how best to support them. People’s records contained information to reflect their individual wishes and preferences, for example, how people preferred to be dressed including any jewellery or people’s preferred foods were recorded. People’s care notes and monitoring charts reflected that people’s preferences were respected and adhered to.

Independence, choice and control

Score: 3

People and their relatives told us staff encouraged them to be as independent as possible. One person said, “I like to be as independent as I can be and staff encourage me to do as much as I can when having a shower, [staff] only do the bits I can’t reach.” A relative said, “They encourage [loved one] to do as much as [they] can for [them]self, but [loved one] does need a lot of support.” People felt empowered to make choices about their day to day lives. For example, one person said, “We can choose what we want to eat every day and staff will show me my clothes so I can choose what I want to wear, I can also choose to do some of the activities.” Another person said, “I have a choice of what I have to eat, I can sometimes get a Deliveroo.”

Staff told us they supported people to have maximum choice and control. Staff gave examples of choices they supported people with such as whether they want to wash and where, how they want to dress or spend their time. Staff also told us they supported people to be as independent as possible. One staff member said, “I say to people if you don’t use it, you lose it.” Another staff member said, “We allow them to be independent to try and see how much things they can do…Mobility affects that and dexterity as well. If we see they struggle we will step up to help, that’s why we are here and let them take their time.” A professional told us, ‘[The staff look] for activities which different residents may enjoy...and offer meaningful activities for their residents.’

We observed staff supporting people to have as much choice and control over their care as they were able to. We saw staff offering people choice for their dietary intake and their drinks.

People were supported to make their own decisions, where this was possible, about their care and treatment. Visiting in the service was completely unrestricted and families and friends were encouraged to visit at any time that suited them. People were encouraged to remain as independent as they could, for example, one person wanted to choose what walking aid to use, depending on how they were feeling that day. People were encouraged to choose how they wanted their care to be provided and if they had any gender preferences about their staff when receiving personal care. The systems and processes in the service supported staff to enable people to be independent and records reflected people's choices.

Responding to people’s immediate needs

Score: 3

People and relatives told us staff were caring and supportive and responded to their needs. One relative said, “They just know how to support [loved one], so [loved one] feels safe and we know that [loved one] is in the best place.” Another relative said, “Brilliant, they work their socks off, I don’t know how they do it.” Another relative shared an example of how staff responded immediately to a change in their loved one. They said, ‘When my [loved one] developed a nasty face rash they spotted it straight away and informed us of it and what treatment and care they administered.’ Some feedback from people and relatives was that people sometimes had to wait if staff were busy or there was sickness, but people did not report any concerns about this.

Staff told us they knew people well, they described people’s diverse needs and felt able to meet those needs. Staff felt there were enough staff to respond to immediate needs and a whole home approach was used to achieve this.

Staff knew people well, were alert to their needs and responded quickly. Call bells were answered promptly. The call bell system in place changed its tone if it was sounding for more than two minutes. This alerted staff that the call had become urgent so they knew to attend immediately. Staff used recognised tools to monitor people for signs of deterioration or complications from medical conditions. Staff knew people well and told us they could usually tell if someone was unwell. Staff were heard having lengthy discussions with health care professionals about concerns, changes in people’s conditions or medication issues.

Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Score: 3

Staff were very complimentary about working at Maplewood Court Care Home. All staff we spoke with and who shared feedback with us felt completely supported in their roles. A staff member shared, ‘As a staff member I appreciate the level of support from the management team who step in to help on the floors when needed, and the caring team that I work with.’ Staff fed back that they felt their physical and emotional well-being was supported. Staff were passionate about developing in their roles and ensuring they were able to provide the best possible care to people living at the service. A staff member told us they, “work together to give better knowledge and care to residents here.”

There were processes in place to support workforce well-being from staff’s initial recruitment and throughout their time working for Maplewood Court Care Home. Records we reviewed such as team meetings and staff supervisions documented staff felt supported and felt management took action to improve the service. There were also processes in place to give staff acknowledgement and appreciation. For example, one member of staff had received an internal award for high compliance which made them feel valued. Staff received training and had champion roles to help them develop. The most recent staff survey results reflected that staff felt they contributed to the success of the service, had carer opportunities and relevant training.