Enter and view: Aarandale Manor Luxury Care Home

Healthwatch Barnet conducted an announced Enter and View visit to Aarandale Manor Luxury Care Home on 22 January 2019. Aarandale Manor is a purpose-built nursing and dementia care home that opened in 2017 and is operated by Abbey Healthcare. The home had capacity for 65 residents but only 32 residents were living there at the time of the visit, including 17 people living with dementia.

The inspection found that the home offered modern facilities, including en-suite bedrooms, communal lounges and dining areas on each floor, a hairdressing salon, Wi-Fi throughout the building and a large accessible garden. However, the inspection team noted that some carpet joins between corridors and bedrooms required repair. 

Care planning arrangements were generally thorough. Prospective residents underwent assessments to ensure their needs could be met, relatives were involved in planning, mental capacity assessments were completed where appropriate, and care plans were reviewed regularly and updated when residents’ needs changed. 

The home employed nurses, senior carers, carers and activity coordinators, with a nurse managing each floor during the day. Staff training was delivered through e-learning and practical sessions, although inspectors were told that some staff lacked confidence in operating moving and handling equipment. Recruitment of suitable staff had been challenging, and the home had experienced considerable managerial turnover, having had three managers since opening. 

Health and wellbeing support included regular GP visits, podiatry, dental and optical services, nutritional monitoring and access to palliative care through North London Hospice. The home had four approved Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisations and 12 further applications awaiting assessment by the local authority. Staff expressed concern about delays in processing these applications and about unnecessary hospital admissions and delayed discharges. 

Food was prepared on site and residents generally appeared to enjoy their meals. Residents’ dietary preferences were accommodated, and management had recently responded to feedback that meals were too spicy by adjusting menus and conducting a food survey. However, Healthwatch noted that, despite there being many Jewish residents, Jewish-style food was not routinely available except during religious festivals. 

The home provided a wide range of activities through two activity coordinators, including outings to local venues, museum visits, seaside trips, room-based activities and garden events. The activity programme aimed to engage both active residents and those who preferred or needed to remain in their rooms.

Feedback from residents and relatives was mixed. While some people praised the home and reported improvements in recent months, others raised concerns about delayed assistance with toileting, lack of choice over waking times and clothing, and communication difficulties where staff members’ first language was not English. Some relatives questioned whether the care provided represented good value for the fees charged. 

Inspectors found that the home took complaints seriously and had implemented changes following feedback. For example, after identifying a pattern of falls during residents’ bedtime routines, staffing levels were adjusted and no further falls had occurred. 

Overall, Healthwatch concluded that Aarandale Manor had the potential to provide a high-quality service but required stronger and more stable leadership to realise that potential. Recommendations included improving responsiveness to residents’ personal preferences, strengthening communication with residents and relatives, enhancing cultural and religious support, ensuring staff competency with equipment, addressing DoLS delays, reducing unnecessary hospital admissions, improving staff supervision processes and carrying out building repairs. The home accepted the recommendations and outlined actions it had already taken or planned to take in response.