Castle Grove has once again maintained its excellent record of quality and service.  That’s the findings of an unannounced routine inspection during April 2010 by the Care Quality Commission.  The inspection took over five hours to complete and have concluded that “Castle Grove continues to provide excellent outcomes for people living at the home”.

To read the full report, please click here.

The quality rating for this care home is three star excellent service.

Among the highlights of the report :-

Description of the care home

It is a mainly Georgian building, although some parts date back to Elizabethan times. There are two double and sixteen single bedrooms, although all rooms are used as single rooms, unless occupied by married couples or others wishing to share. All bedrooms have en-suite facilities. There is a pleasant lounge/reading room and separate dining room. There are four acres of beautiful gardens, which are accessible to residents and visitors. There is ample parking to the front of the property.

Staffing

Survey returns from people who live at the home indicated that staff either ‘always’ or ‘usually’ listen and act on what people living at the home say. Comments about the staff in surveys from people living at the home included. ‘Very good care and attention and willingness to discuss any questions I may wish to ask. ‘ ‘Castle Grove gives me security and contentment.’ ‘The staff work as a team that interacts well, and all staff treat residents with respect and understanding.’ ‘It is informal and friendly. The caring and nursing staff are efficient, very kind and fun.’

What the care home does well

Castle Grove benefits from strong management. There are good internal processes which provide audit trails of evidence when assessing outcomes for people who live at the home. People living at the home value the input of managers and rate care delivered from staff as high. People feel empowered and are enabled to speak up if they are unhappy about something and want things changed. They have confidence that their voice will be heard.

Meals are events to look forward to and are social occasions. The environment is pleasing, relaxed and homely.

To read the full report, please click here.

A local solicitor once described Castle Grove Care Home as “the Dorchester of care homes!” Castle Grove was first recognised as an Investor in People in 1996 with their latest re-assessment recently they have clocked up an impressive 14 years as Investors in People. Established in 1984 as a Residential Home, Castle Grove offers a full range of care from Day Care, sheltered independent housing, residential and full nursing care. They were recognised by Recognising Excellence, the Investors in People Centre for the South West.

Proprietor Isabelle Kenny commented: “I am proud to be re-recognised  as an employer who understands the essential part played in a successful business by its staff. The ethos of Castle Grove as a “hotel with nurses” which responds to the changing needs of its residents is upheld by the staff. Our reputation, founded on  my late husband Ray’s first-class standards, has been maintained by the loyal staff who have inculcated those values in staff who never knew him.”

Recognising Excellence assessor, Ian Fuller commented: “I am delighted that Castle Grove has, once again, achieved a successful review against Investors in People. People there are encouraged to put forward ideas on how to identify things that might be done differently to offer an improved service or experience for residents. All those interviewed confirmed their line manager was approachable, supportive, motivating and actively interested in their development and maintenance of standards. There is a consistently strong understanding of the home’s key priorities and issues and staff are well aware of their contribution towards meeting them.”

Investors in People’s aim is to help employers across the UK to develop their businesses by making the most of their most valuable asset – their people.

Just as during last year’s snow, the staff at Castle Grove has risen to the challenge of the inclement weather. Isabelle & those with 4×4 vehicles (and tractors) have helped people to get to work & others (including Tim Kenny, Isabelle’s son) have stood in for those who could not make it. Tim used to wash up as a youngster (he is now 27) so it was no change there!

Paths have been cleared in the snow & milk was delivered by tractor (we get it from a local farmer). Vegetables were brought by Ian in a wheelbarrow from the Bampton greengrocer.

Amongst Ian’s more unusual tasks was climbing down the back of the house on a ladder to rescue Molly, the cat, who had fallen into a snow-drift & couldn’t get out. Our amazing hens have continued to lay throughout this cold snap.

Ian was helped in clearing the snow by Trevor, the husband of Patsy, one of our carers & John. Topsy, the dog, supervised them in the arduous task of creating a snowman in the rose-garden.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)

PLEASE NOTE NOMINATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED.

Isabelle Kenny would like to donate £100 to each organisation in recognition of Castle Grove’s Silver Juilee, to be celebrated in September 2009.

Isabelle says -

“Bampton has been very kind to Ray & me, and I would like to recognize that by giving something back to the community in which we have been so happy.”

Applications will be accepted in writing by 17th August.

The address you need is -

Castle Grove, Bampton, Devon, EX16 9NS.

You can email us info@castle-grove.co.uk, or fill out the form below.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Francese Knowles enjoyed a day not to forget at Castle Grove, sharing her 100th birthday with friends and family.  Some of her relatives flew over from Australia for her special day.

As you would expect, Mrs. Knowles was looking forward to a telegram from The Queen.  However, due to the severe weather conditions experienced in Bampton , she nearly went without as the local postman John Harris struggled through the snow!   This story made it into The Telegraph (Click on the picture to enlarge).

Here is an extract from The Telegraph -

Treacherous roads and snowbound homes caused the suspension of many delivery rounds last week, particularly in rural areas.

But John Harris, 63, drove through blizzards to deliver the Queen’s message to Francese Knowles at the Castle Grove nursing home, Bampton, Devon, seven miles from the Royal Mail delivery office in Tiverton.

Mrs Knowles said she was “thrilled” as were two generations of her family who had travelled from Australia to be at her birthday party on Sunday.

“We were not allowed out for a good part of the week,” said Mr Harris, a postman for 18 years. “Even the townspeople could not get around. The pavements were deadly.

“I am not being heroic. Some of the roads were quite dodgy but I was just doing my job.”

 To view the full story please click here.

It also appeared in the  Western Morning News - (Click on the picture to enlarge).

 Here is an extract from the Western Morning News -

“When blizzards paralysed the Westcounty last week, thousands of workers opened their doors, saw up to 22 inches of snow, and went back to bed.  Heroic postman John Harris had other ideas.  Treacherous roads and snowbound homes made it impossible for the army of Royal Mail workers to do their rounds, especially in the countryside.

But Mr Harris, 63, noticed something special in the dark recesses of his postbag: a message from the Queen congratulating a Devon resident on reaching her 100th birthday.

Allowed out for special deliveries only, Mr Harris risked the wrath of the weather and delivered the letter to the snowbound Castle Grove nursing home in Bampton, a rural town seven miles from the Royal Mail delivery office in Tiverton.

Francese Knowles, the recipient, was “thrilled”, as were the two generations of her family who travelled from Australia to be at her birthday party on Sunday”.

To read the full story please click here.

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)

With Bampton in the grip of icy weather, it was all hands to the pump on Friday as snow kept many staff from work. Only those who live in the village were able to make the journey, meaning that several people had to step in at the last minute – including Isabelle Kenny! With an empty kitchen and hungry residents, she quickly donned her Chef Whites – and hat! – and got cooking.

With a crack team of staff, paths were soon cleared, residents fed and watered and log fires lit. Isabelle turned out some top notch food; including Savoury Mince, Vichy Carrots, two potato dishes and Baked Rice Pudding – served to applause from the residents who were glad of the hot food!

“It was hard work for us all but I’m truly grateful to everyone who came in today; it just proves that teamwork conquers all!”

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)

As reported in the Tiverton Gazette - 

The event marked Investors in People Week and saw Quality South West congratulating organisations that have been continuously recognised as an Investor in People for more than 10 years.

Among employers represented at the event were cheesemaker Quickes Traditional, Castle Grove nursing and retirement home in Tiverton, Exeter-based Education & Training Skills, Exeter City Council, Ellen Tinkham Special School in Exeter, Crediton-based circuit board maker Graphic Plc, engineering design consultancy Pell Frischmann and Veitch Penny solicitors.

The organisations were presented with certificates by John Hirst, chief executive of the Met Office, who hosted the event.

Mr Hirst said: “It was fantastic to meet so many people from organisations who have demonstrated their commitment to their people over such a long term.”

David Tew, operations director at Quality South West, said: “Investors in People provides organisations with a business tool to enable them to develop and value their key resource — their people.”

As reported in the Tiverton Gazette -

The money was raised for the Exeter Leukaemia Fund by the Bampton 10k Run held in June. And the cheque was presented to the charity’s Mark Whittle by Ian and Gill Buchanan, who organised the run on roads around Bampton.

Ray and Isabelle Kenny of Castle Grove have been the main sponsors of the event for several years, and when Ray died from leukaemia in July last year, a group of friends and colleagues were ‘running for Ray’.

The money will be put towards the ELF Garden Project at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital.

Ian and Gill would like to thank Isabelle for her continued support of the 10k and HepcoMotion for sponsoring the fun run, which generates money for the Bampton Church of England School.