Enter and view: Frances and Dick James Court

Healthwatch Barnet carried out an Enter and View visit to Frances and Dick James Court, a sheltered housing unit for Jewish blind and disabled people, on 2nd May 2017. The visit was part of Healthwatch Barnet Enter and View schedule.

Observations by the Enter and View representatives reported that: the housing unit location is convenient with a few minutes’ walk to a supermarket, a doctor’s surgery, a private health club and a tube station; however, the access road is busy and difficult for disabled people to cross safely; the environment was clean and well-maintained although some of the fixtures and fittings were well-used and getting worn, but the Healthwatch team noted that a refurbishment is planned; the housing unit was welcoming and friendly, with a large pleasant garden; there is a member of staff on duty 24 hours a day; end-of-life care is provided including discussing contacts, wills and associated matters; tenants attend a nearby GP surgery independently, but staff are also available for special arrangements; tenants organise their own activities such as Quiz nights, while the management arranges for a mini-bus to take tenants shopping; Friday night prayers (Shabbat) are led by tenants, and other Jewish events are also observed at the house; a tenants satisfaction survey is conducted every three years. Generally, tenants felt lucky to be in this house.

Tenants felt that they could be more engaged in decision-making and expressed the wish to have end-of-life care in their own flat. They also mentioned that there used to be a hot water urn in the sitting room. They wished to have one installed. Tenants also felt that there was a delay in the closing of the double set of front doors, which could be a security risk.

Healthwatch Barnet made the following recommendations:

1. Consult tenants’ views on matters of general interest.

2. Increase number of tenants’ meetings a year.

3. Carry out a tenants’ satisfaction questionnaire yearly, and feedback the findings and proposed actions to be taken.

4. Arrange for chairs in the communal lounge to be professionally cleaned on a regular basis.

5. Install a hot water urn in the communal lounge

6. Adjust the timing of the closure of the double set of front doors to lessen the security risk.

7. Barnet Council should look into providing a safe method of crossing Langstone Way where the housing unit is located.

The management responded that: a number of communication channels are used for tenants engagement (formal tenants meetings held twice a year, tenants newsletter, and ‘do my views count?’ document) are available for tenants at the lounge to feedback their views; refurbishment project is planned; and a hot and colder water dispensing machine is available in the communal kitchen; the urn was removed following a health and safety risk assessment; the doors have been set to allow for some tenants who are less able to move through safely before they start to close behind them, which had been calibrated by a leading door automation company.