Enter and view: Caton House

Healthwatch Milton Keynes undertook an enter and view visit of Caton House on 21 July 2023. They spoke to 14 residents and 7 family members.

As well as providing general residential, nursing, and dementia care, Caton House also offers a non-residential day centre on the ground floor for up to 10 individuals.

Each floor has its own lounge and dining area to accommodate residents, however residents who are able can move freely to dine and join activities where they choose in the care home.

There are a number of small cosy seating areas dotted about the care home, plenty of books to allow people to sit quietly, or encourage chat and conversation between residents. The upstairs lounge also has a large bookcase full of books and puzzles available for residents.

Staff interactions on the day of the visit were observed to be kind and caring.

Residents and families said that, on the whole, the staff were friendly and kind. However, because people also said that there were not always enough staff, this affected the level of care or attention that was able to be given to each person. People also said that because of low staff numbers, call bells were not responded to in a timely manner. Some people said that the wait meant they were sitting in soiled continence pads for 30 minutes or more.

Residents and their families stated that staff could be quite rough when providing personal care. Family members mentioned the amount of bruising that loved ones had, but also said that when they asked about the bruising, they were shown the incident log, and these had been noted.

There are two activities staff at the care home and there is a planned schedule of activities, along with a group of residents who like to join in with the gardening activities keeping the flowers and a few vegetables and fruiting trees and plants looking lovely.

The report contains recommendations and a response by the service provider.