Enter and view: Monmouth Court Nursing Home

Healthwatch Suffolk undertook an enter and view visit to Monmouth Court Care Home on 15 February 2017.

The manager has been in post since August 2016, prior to this she was in a management role in domiciliary care. The previous manager left in May 2016 and a temporary manager was in place between May and August. The current manager appears to have a positive impact on staff morale. 

There are three houses to Monmouth Court, Harlech, (18 residents) which is a dementia unit. Both Powys (14 residents) and Cillgaren (19 residents) are residential units with some frail elderly residents. The home is registered for 153 residents in total but at the time of the Enter & View visit there were only 51 residents due to restrictions on admissions imposed by the CQC and Suffolk County Council a year ago. The restrictions have now been lifted and a planned, structured admission policy is to be put in place to admit new residents. 

Active steps are being taken to recruit more permanent staff to alleviate the use of agency staff. Whilst agency staff continue to be used, it is a policy of BUPA and this home to ensure that agency staff are trained by BUPA and are always invited to attend extra training if they wish. Monmouth Court uses the services of two agencies and their requirements are booked well in advance. The Manager liaises with her counterpart at Anglesea Heights and they work together for support. 

The Healthwatch team saw evidence of good practice and positive relationships between staff and residents throughout the visit.