Enter and view: Rosecroft Residential Home

Healthwatch Cumbria conducted an unannounced Enter and View visit to Rosecroft Residential Home, on 12 February 2014, as part of a planned programme of work.

Rosecroft is a purpose built 47 bed Residential Care home, one of 15 Care Homes run by MPS Care Group, it contains a small locked unit for residents who have dementia. The Enter and View Authorised Representatives observed that there were some pictures on the walls and residents names on the bedrooms doors, but not many of the other features associated with a Dementia unit; memory boxes, familiar objects or colour coding. Staff advised that residents in this unit regularly mix with people living in the other part of the Home.

The Home employs an activities coordinator who discusses the programme with residents and amends the programme as far as possible to accommodate the wishes of the residents. If there is sport on TV in the evenings, the residents who wish to watch it may get a buffet and a beer to enjoy with the game. The coordinator took 4 of the residents to the theatre to see an evening show, the group have decided that a matinee might be a better option for the next outing.

The report made a number of recommendations regarding the memory boxes and colour coding in the Dementia unit, displaying activity information more clearly and utilising the available space in a variety of ways to suit residents mood or activity levels.

There was no response from the provider included with this report.