• Care Home
  • Care home

Poplars Care Centre

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

158 Tonbridge Road, Maidstone, Kent, ME16 8SU 0844 472 5179

Provided and run by:
Tamehaven Limited

Report from 1 February 2024 assessment

On this page

Effective

Good

Updated 3 April 2024

People’s needs were assessed to ensure staff understood their holistic health and well-being needs. This included assessing the needs people has with regards to their protected characteristics such as disability and culture. Staff understood the importance of seeking people’s consent before providing care and support. People were involved in decisions about their care as appropriate. Where people needed staff to make decisions for them the appropriate process were in place to ensure decisions were made in people’s best interests.

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.

Assessing needs

Score: 3

People told us staff understood their needs. One person said, “On the whole they look after me very well and I am happy here”. Another person said, “They know how I like things to be done”. Relatives told us staff listened to them if they raised issues about people’s care.

Staff were knowledgeable about people’s needs and followed their care plans. Prior to admission, people were assessed for the support they required, and relatives were consulted. The registered manager told us, “The process of assessment doesn’t stop, it continues once people are here. If the person can participate, they are encouraged to do so as much as possible, as are the families.”

People’s needs were assessed. This included regularly using recognised best practice tools, such as tools to assess if people were at risk from pressure sores and malnutrition. Assessments were holistic and included people’s physical and mental wellbeing needs as well as any needs related to people’s protected characteristics such as ethnicity, sexually or disability. People’s communication needs were also assessed where appropriate. Where people needed support, such as using communication tools these were in place and staff where aware of the person’s needs and how to support them.

Delivering evidence-based care and treatment

Score: 3

We did not look at Delivering evidence-based care and treatment during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

How staff, teams and services work together

Score: 3

We did not look at How staff, teams and services work together during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

Supporting people to live healthier lives

Score: 3

We did not look at Supporting people to live healthier lives during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

Monitoring and improving outcomes

Score: 3

We did not look at Monitoring and improving outcomes during this assessment. The score for this quality statement is based on the previous rating for Effective.

Staff spoke with people throughout the day constantly ensuring people consented to the support they were being offered. People told us staff respected their choices. One person said, “I prefer to be cared for by older staff not the young ones and the staff do respect my decision.” Relatives told us they were involved in decisions, where this was appropriate. One person told us they did not like their bed. We raised this with the registered manager who made plans to get a new bed straight away. Staff discussed this with the person to ensure they were happy with the planned change.

People were supported to make decisions and have choices where they were able to do so. Staff were aware of the importance respecting people’s capacity to make decisions for themselves. Staff were patient with people and gave them time. For example, one staff member told us, “People are encouraged to feed themselves, and when they walk, they are encouraged to walk, with the frame close by them just in case, for reassurance, but the first approach is to support them to walk for themselves with encouragement and giving lots of time.” Another staff member said, “I always ask for permission before I do anything to support someone. I don’t want them to be upset. I check with them how they want me to help them.”

People’s capacity was assessed when this was appropriate. If people needed support to make decisions for themselves this was clear in their care plans. For example, where people time and support to understand and process the information needed to make a choice. If people needed decisions made on their behalf staff were aware of this and appropriate processes had been followed to ensure decisions were made in people’s best interests and recorded as required.