Enter and view: Hillcrest Residential Care Home

Healthwatch Cheshire West conducted an Enter and View visit to Hillcrest Residential Care Home, a residential home offering care and support for older persons' and those with Dementia, on 19 March 2014.

Enter and View Authorised Representatives observed that staff were welcoming and friendly and noted good interaction between staff members and between the residents and staff. Residents spoken to said they were well looked after and the food was delicious. The visiting team reported the pleasant smell of cooking on the ground floor during their visit.

Authorised Representatives felt that internal decoration needed some investment and were told that a refurbishment is underway but they reported that there did not seem to be evidence to support this.

The report notes that residents all appeared happy and contented with most mentioning how good the food was. The Authorised Representatives spoke to one visitor who reported being very pleased with the care her husband was receiving, she said that she had moved him from a previous home because she was not satisfied with the care there. There was no management available to the visiting team but they felt that the staff coped well with their questions.

The report suggests that Dementia best practice guidelines should be considered for all aspects of life in the dementia unit, and that there should be action taken to reduce the number of falls recorded in the accident book.

There was no provider response included within the report.