Enter and view: Chesham Leys Care Home

Healthwatch Buckhinghamshire conducted an Enter and View visit to Chesham Leys Care Home in January 2019. This visit was part of a series of Enter and Views visits in the Dignity in Care programme. Chesham Leys provides nursing care for 52 people, several of whom were living with dementia. We talked to 10 residents, 2 staff and 2 visitors and observed another 16 residents and 6 staff.

Observations included that some areas were left unattended by staff making it difficult for residents to alert anyone if they needed help. The activities schedules was varied and residents reported that they enjoyed going on trips outside of the home. There was mixed feedback regarding the staff in that some reported that they were very caring and others that it was difficult to communicate. Residents felt they were treated with respect but on occasion staff did not knock before entering their room. Again, there was mixed feedback regarding the quality and choice of food.

Recommendations included: ensure residents have accessible call bells / pendants in communal areas; remind staff to anticipate personalised care and remember preferences such as brown rather than white bread, ask whether people who like to be hoisted to an arm chair in the morning etc.; deep clean the carpets outside the lounge and dining room on the ground floor and anywhere else where this is needed, to remove any lingering urine smell; remind staff to knock on doors and wait for permission before entering bedrooms; maximise individual choice through beakers / cups appropriate to each person’s needs; remember to ask what people would prefer to eat rather than assume it’s the same as last time; review the menus for options and quality and ensures menus are readily accessible to residents; create a pictorial activity schedule; create pictorial menus ; and increase interaction, and activities, between staff and residents.