Enter and view: Whitestones care home

Healthwatch Derbyshire conducted two enter and view visits on Whitestones care home, a council run residential home supporting people who are living with dementia. The home provides 36 long-term care beds including one double room for long term care residents who are part of a couple, three short-term beds and two beds for those requiring re-ablement.

The two visits were arranged as Healthwatch Derbyshire has been commissioned by Derbyshire County Council to conduct a range of unannounced visits to their residential services across the county, in addition to Healthwatch Derbyshire receiving contact from relatives of people that would potentially be transferred there following the closure of short-term care beds at Ecclesfold Resource Centre nearby.

Observation by the Enter and View representatives reported that very few residents had capacity for rational, reliable, conversation. Good practice observed included:

- Resident’s feelings, dignity and choices leading engagement with staff

- The ‘This is me …’ poster in each of the resident’s rooms

- Bedroom privacy strategies of some gated thresholds and sensor mats

- Residents had freedom of the home

Healthwatch Derbyshire made 7 recommendations, including:

- To advise of strategies for regular involvement of residents and relatives contributions to care home issues

- To consider whether maintaining a communications type record in clients bedrooms may be a useful way to share information between clients, staff and relatives

- To improve the short-term care “end of stay” questionnaire system to ensure that consistent feedback is obtained following each stay from both clients and relatives

The report includes a response from the provider.