Enter and view: Monica Court

On 13th August 2018, Healthwatch Salford conducted an Enter and View visit to Monica Court, an extra care housing scheme with self-contained flats within a communal housing scheme that enable older people over 55, and others who require extra support, to continue to live independently with flexible support and the security of 24/7 emergency response and care from on-site staff.

Healthwatch spoke to 19 people, consisting of residents, relatives and staff. Healthwatch asked people to answer survey questions that were written to assess the effectiveness and responsiveness of communication from the provider to the tenant, the provision of social activity within the schemes, with a focus on social inclusion, and the quality and type of care provided.

The residents spoken to mentioned that they felt safe, with many responding positively about the scheme and stating that they did feel like their care needs were being met and that carers knew them. The activities were the responsibility of the care provider at Monica Court, with staff sometimes struggling to provide care and activities when care needed to be prioritised. Some residents had high care needs and mobility issues that meant that they weren’t always able to fully take part in activities or be as independent as they once were, before they lived at the scheme and their health declined. Food and mealtimes were an important topic for residents and there was some dissatisfaction about having to decide a menu choice a month in advance, with some tenants often forgetting what they had chosen. Although there were mixed comments about the food itself, staff we spoke to stated that most tenants had hearty appetites and often cleared their plates. 

This report contains a service provider response to the recommendations Healthwatch made and details about the follow-up visit.