Enter and view: Brookfield Care Home

Healthwatch Warrington chose to visit Brookfield Care Home due to its specific focus on providing a highly-interactive activities programme for residents; based on resident’s personal interests and hobbies. The purpose of Healthwatch Warrington visit was to explore what this good work and person-centered approach looked and felt like from the perspective of a lay person.

Staff members of Brookfield Care Home like to conduct pre-admission home visits in order to carry out a pre-admission assessment with new residents. Being in this setting helps them to better understand the resident’s background prior to their move; including personal history, tastes and preferences. This is a core aspect of the home’s commitment to a ‘person-centred’ approach and focus on treating residents as individuals.

A big part of Brookfield approach to care is a focus on diversity and treating people as individuals. This is shown by Brookfield’s showcasing of its varied activities programme; with activities offered on a daily basis that are based around resident’s interests and hobbies. Staff talk to residents to get an idea of their preferences and also introduce new activities to stimulate them.

Brookfield does not use agency staff and has not done so for several years. Healthwatch Warrington believe that this is a positive position because the residents are familiar with the staff and the staff are aware of the residents’ needs and preferences. All new members of staff are given thorough induction training and are encouraged to take National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) and other courses. Healthwatch Warrington observed genuinely friendly and respectful interactions between staff and residents during the visit, and residents appeared to be very comfortable and were happy to speak to them during the tour of the building.

In their report, Healthwatch Warrington also highlight:

The reception area being homely, clean, uncluttered and free from any unpleasant odors. The main hallway was also beautifully decorated in keeping with the character of the building and pictures and ornaments added to the homely feel / Brookfield has links with the local community and this includes children from the local primary school and members of the Methodist Church / Brookfield has a library room that is equipped with a large selection of books, comfortable upholstered chairs and window views of the gardens / Meals are served from heated trolleys and all food is prepared on site, using fresh ingredients. A menu choice is available for all meal times and both residents and staff described the food as being exceptionally good / All communal areas visited were clean, free from obstructions and had a pleasant odour. The visiting team were able to view toilets and bathrooms, which were also very clean and clutter free.

Staff were friendly, demonstrated a genuine respect for residents and appeared to be proud of their working environment.

Everyone Healthwatch Warrington spoke with were cheerful, happy at the home and with the way it is managed. They did not receive any negative comments.