Enter and view: Pennine Lodge Care Home

Healthwatch Cumbria conducted an Enter and View on Pennine Lodge Care Home, Cumbria, a privately owned care home with 70 ensuite rooms. The home can cater for married couples but does not have ant at present. The visit was conducted on18th May 2017.

The visit was arranged as part of Healthwatch Cumbria's enter and view schedule.

Observation by the enter and view representatives reported that:

The home’s main entrance has a signing in book for visitors along with a hand gel dispenser which was empty. All residents had care plans.

The home has a Dementia Friendly Accreditation and there were many signs of this, such as sensory objects (i.e. there was a board on the wall with light switches, light pulls, door knobs, locks etc., which people could interact and play with).

The large communal garden was overlooked by many of the resident’s rooms and the staff member said that on sunny hot days they would assist the residents to sit outside and would sometimes provide ice-cream. The garden was secure and there was a resident rabbit in a hutch in the corner.

The residents had good access to healthcare, whether this behealthcare preofessionals coming to the home or the residents being taken to them.

Some residents were not happy with the food and the home were investigating changing/contacting the catering provider with their concerns.

There was a full activities schedule and this was well publicised on notice boards. There were a number of lounges with tv and other activities available.

The home has pet therapy where pets and animals are brought in for residents to see and touch.

Residents were happy living at this home.

Healthwatch Cumbria received no comments on the report from the provider having being given the opportunity to do so within the statutory response period of 20 working days.