Barnet Grange Care Home

Updated 8 November 2024

Date of Assessment: 3 December to 23 December 2024. The service is a residential and nursing home providing support to older people, some of whom were living with dementia. The service was divided into two areas; one for assisted living and a dementia wing called Copperfield. A second dementia wing in the home was not occupied. We found 2 breaches of the legal regulation in relation to the effective governance of the home and promoting people’s right to consent to aspects of their care. Incidents were not always explored fully to consider if lessons could be learnt. Some people raised concerns with how some staff spoke to them. However, other people felt safe living at the home. Some people, their relatives and staff felt there needed to be more staff in the busy morning and evening periods. We concluded staffing levels were not appropriate at these times. Two environmental safety checks were not completed safely, but others were. People received their medicines correctly, but there were issues with some of the associated paperwork.

There were shortfalls in risk management and some potential high risks to people were not being assessed, explored, and planned for. There was a lack of understanding of how staff and managers should promote people’s right to make certain choices about their lives. People received support from health professionals, but there were issues in advocating for some people to access health care. Staff felt supported by their direct managers.

There were some shortfalls with people experiencing a person-centred care experience, but there were also good examples of staff treating people as individuals and trying to make life interesting. There was a division between the two parts of the home which did not promote a positive culture.

The issues found during this assessment were a result of limited effective governance of the home. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.

Updated 8 November 2024

People had mixed views about some aspects of the care provided at the home. Most people felt safe and spoke of how caring and respectful the staff were. They enjoyed the entertainment, and they felt assured staff were mindful and responsive about their health needs. A person’s relative said, “[Name of nurse] love her, some of them [staff] are exceptional. [Name of nurse] always stops and chats, it is just the changes of managers that’s a problem.” However, although they also spoke well of most of the staff, some people also told us that not all staff treated them respectfully as adults, which made them feel uneasy sometimes living at the home. Some people felt there needed to be more staff available at the busy times in the mornings and evenings when people were more likely to be asking for assistance. People and their relatives also commented on the changes in the management team, which undermined their confidence with the service as a whole. For example, 1 person said, “I ring for breakfast in my room, but I am told [by staff] don’t ring in the mornings unless it’s life or death.” A person’s relative said, “[A carer] was having a go at [their family member] it was not pleasant walking into that.”