Elton Hall Care Home Enter & View Report - April 2020

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.

Due to some communication problems at the time, Elton Hall was not one of the services visited. However we are aware that since this time, management and staff at Elton Hall, along with staff from several other services, have been working alongside staff from Stockton Borough Council’s Adult Social Care Team to see what they could do to to further improve the quality of the service being provided.

We were invited to carry out an Enter & View visit to Elton Hall by the care home manager to see for ourselves what has been achieved and to seek the views of residents, relatives of residents and staff members about the difference this has made to those people using the service.

Healthwatch Stockton-on-Tees visited the home on the 3rd March 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 14 residents, eight members of staff and received feedback from eight relatives/friends of residents living in Allington House. Some of these responses were received on the day of the visit, others were returned by post.

Conclusion

Generally speaking this was a positive visit, with high levels of satisfaction with the service being expressed by residents, staff members and the majority of relatives/friends who responded. However, there were two relatives who responded to us directly via a link to the survey, who were less than satisfied with some aspects of the service. Unfortunately we were not able to speak to them to clarify some of their comments. These comments sometimes seemed to be at odds with what we observed on the day, and what we were told by others.

• This is a very old building, which, due to its age and size will require a lot of investment to bring about the grandeur it once enjoyed. However there are some lovely features, notably the large communal lounges and dining room on the ground floor. Other areas of the home are currently being subjected to an ongoing programme of maintenance and improvement. It was found to be clean and comfortable and, importantly, there was a nice welcoming feel to the place. Staff, several of whom have worked at Elton Hall for a number of years, were very friendly and it was evident that they have established some good relationships with their residents. They were observed to be kind, considerate and respectful at all times.
• There were two activity co-ordinators on duty at the time of the visit, although we were told that three are employed. Although they were both active in the Hollies Unit engaging in a fun craft activity with residents, those on the ground floor were seen to be sitting in the lounges watching TV or sleeping, with little to keep them occupied. A good programme of activities is planned and we were told that one-to-one support and stimulation is provided although we did not see evidence of this on the day. We are aware that the home has its own mini bus and this enables residents to go out and enjoy activities in the community. One such trip is a weekly visit to the ‘one o’clock club’ at Middleton St George Cricket Club. In February several residents enjoyed a trip to the coast where they had a fish and chip lunch.
• Discussion with staff confirmed that they received relevant and ongoing training and it is pleasing to note that they have recently been working closely with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council to see what improvements they can bring to the home for the benefit of residents living there. Staff have recently undertaken GEMS training, a dementia state classification programme. This focuses more on the skills and abilities a person living with dementia still has, and not those they have lost. By identifying what GEM state they are at staff are more able to provide the right amount of care and support to help the person achieve their full potential. One method is to use the ‘hand under hand’ technique when a person is eating or brushing their teeth, to enable them to become more independent. This is at its early stages in the home, but it was reported by staff that they can already see some of the benefits of this approach.
• Activity staff have also been engaging with staff from the Local Authority, and similar staff from other care homes across the Borough, and have been able to share ideas and techniques and learn about other resources that may be available to them and to their residents.
• We were also told that certain staff have been appointed as ‘champions’ – taking a lead in such things as oral health, mental capacity and dementia. This has helped to ensure best practice in these matters was considered and they were able to provide additional support to other staff in these areas.
• Staff generally felt that they had sufficient time to meet the needs of residents appropriately, although, as ever, there were times when they could be stretched and extremely busy. Two relatives told us they had some concerns about staffing levels and this was backed up by some residents who said that staff did not get a lot of opportunity to just stop for a chat.
• Food at Elton Hall would appear to be of a good quality and comments overheard at the dining table suggest residents are, in general, highly satisfied with the meals provided for them. Snacks and drinks are available throughout the day.
• Although we were told that resident and relative meetings take place we were also told that they were not well attended.

To read the Care Quality Commission inspection report on Elton Hall Care Home, please click HERE.