Enter and View: Lilliputs Residential Care Complex (second visit)

Healthwatch Havering conducted an enter and view visit (second one) to Lilliputs Residential Care Complex, on 20th February, 2016 as part of their aim to visit all health and social care facilities in the borough, to ensure that all services delivered are acceptable and the safety of the residents is not compromised in any way.

Lilliputs is a residential care complex, consisting of five “units”, each separately registered by the CQC (one of which is occupied by children and is therefore outside HWH’s remit), operated by the Care Management Group (CMG). Healthwatch regards the complex as a single entity for the purposes of visit. The client group is mainly severely disabled younger people, some children but others long-term residents. HWH had visited the complex on several previous occasions. This visit was, in part, to follow up the last formal visit in September 2015.

There are three regular GP's for the Complex. All residents have had their annual health check. A whistle blowing policy is present for the staff. The staff visited all four units for observation and talked to the four managers.

The Farmhouse:

There are seven long term residents at The Farmhouse ranging from 18 to 38 years old. Care plans are reviewed at least every six months, by parents, professionals and management. All residents were receiving supported feeding and were weighed regularly. HWH recommended the following: The lounge and kitchen area should be decorated in a more cheerful and sensory style; the garden should have sensory equipment and perhaps a climbing frame; the conservatory should have a heater/air conditioning unit installed, so that it can be used all year round.

The Day Care Centre:

The Day Care Centre had 9 service users in attendance on the day of visit. All the clients come with their own care worker. The centre is open six days a week from 8.00am to 7.00pm. All service users at the time of the visit were involved in some sort of activity. They all seemed happy and had good relationship with their carers. HW Havering recommended the following: One of the downstairs bathrooms should be converted to a wet room to ensure incontinent clients can be dealt with in a dignified manner; the changing room should have an extractor fan installed, to prevent unpleasant smells and to control infection; the carpet in the gym should be repaired: the entrance to the upstairs staircase should be level as it could currently be a trip hazard; the poolside area requires to be steam cleaned and the webpage needs updating.

The Paddocks:

The Manager of this unit had been working in it for approximately 20 months. There were 7 residents (6 males and 1 female) of various ages with conditions including Learning Disability, Autistic Spectrum and Epilepsy. The Manager advised that six residents were currently on DoLs. HW recommended:

Fences need to be raised in height; the washing machines should be disinfected at least monthly for infection control purposes; the décor needs to offer residents more stimulation

Cherry Tree Annex:

There were seven residents aged between 21 and 54, all of whom were male, with conditions such as Downs Syndrome, Learning Disabilities, Autistic Spectrum and Challenging Behaviours. The team spoke to one resident who seemed happy and well dressed. The team made the following recommendations:

Sofas required urgent replacement; the rust stain on the wet room floor required attention; the décor needed to offer more stimulation; the oven door needed to be replaced.

The service provider responded positively to the recommendations.