Enter and view: Barclay Gardens Care Home

Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin conducted an Enter and View visit to Barclay Gardens Care Home. The home provides residential care as well as short break and respite opportunities for older people over 65 who require personal care, including those living with dementia. This visit was carried out as part of Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin’s engagement programme.

The Enter and View representatives found that: residents told them that they were happy living in the home and felt supported and cared for by the staff; staff were caring, cheerful and kind interacting with residents, and worked well as a team; meals were fresh-cooked and appreciated by the residents, with occasional special treats; a varied programme of activities was provided for residents within units, the Day Centre, and included trips out to special events. Residents’ relatives/visitors who were spoken to reported that they were very happy with the care provided at the home for their relative and the way staff engaged with them too.

Healthwatch Telford and Wrekin made recommendations around: including pictures on the month’s activity listing/schedule displayed on notice boards to help residents recognise the advertised activities; periodically checking notice boards to review and rearrange notices to prevent overlapping; periodically reviewing room facilities with residents to help identify issues such as bed comfort; considering the use of pictures to help residents with signage; considering replacing small clocks and those with roman numerals provided in each unit with clocks that also display the day and date. The report contains a positive response from the service provider.