Allington House Enter and View Follow Up Report - 2019

Summary

In 2018, Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees conducted 28 Enter and View visits to care homes across the Borough. The purpose of this work was to determine what it’s like to live in a care home in Stockton-on-Tees.

Following this a number of recommendations were made to care home managers and providers to help improve the residents, family members and staff experience of the care and service provided.

One of the reasons for this visit, as discussed with managers of the service, was to highlight the improvements that they told us had been put in place since our previous Enter & View visit in 2018. 

Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees visited the home on the 12th November to conduct the follow up Enter and View and to speak to staff, residents and relatives, gathering feedback via surveys, one-to-one discussions and from observations made on the day.

During the follow up visit, Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees spoke to a total of eight residents, 10 members of staff and received feedback from 10 relatives of residents living in Allington House. Some of these responses were received on the day of the visit, others were returned by post.

Conclusion

This was a very positive visit and it was evident that a lot of work has been done to improve the service since we last visited the home in 2018.

Staff were very positive about the home and about the changes that have taken place. They feel motivated and valued and told us that they work well as a team. Some very positive comments were also received from residents and relatives and overall there were high levels of satisfaction with the service being provided.

• Decoration on the first floor has been greatly enhanced by the addition of numerous dementia friendly features. Good use of contrasting colours and improved signage will help residents to find their way around and the various wall murals and points of interest could be used to interact with residents and divert them away from any inappropriate behaviours.
• A range of activities are in place, both inside and outside of the home, and there was evidence of these being personalised to meet the needs of individual residents.
• Interactions between staff and residents were observed to be positive and staff appeared to have a good recognition and awareness of individual needs. The call/alarm system was less evident than during the last visit and staff seemed to be responding quickly.
• The home appears to be proactive about gathering resident and relative feedback and hold regular meetings to allow residents and relatives to share their views, raise any issues and suggest changes to the home. Minutes of these meetings were in place on the notice board in the entrance to the home.