Enter and view: Kenyon Lodge Nursing Home

Healthwatch Salford carried out an Enter and View visit to Kenyon Lodge, a nursing care home with places for up to 60 residents.

The home was evaluated against eight quality indicators: strong, visible management; staff with the time and skills to do their jobs; good knowledge of each individual resident and how their needs may be changing; a varied programme of activities; quality, choice and flexibility around food and mealtimes; ensuring residents can regularly see health professionals such as GPs, dentists, opticians or chiropodists; accommodating residents’ personal, cultural and lifestyle needs; and being an open environment where feedback is actively sought and used.

A previous CQC report on Kenyon Lodge care home had rated it as inadequate. As a result, a new manager with significant experience had been appointed. Despite being in charge for only three months at the time of this visit, he had already implemented significant changes and was planning more changes. This had already had a positive impact on the atmosphere of the care home. Staff, some of whom had been working at the home for many years, were particularly happy at the change of manager as he was clearly listening to their views and updating the service accordingly. Residents also commented that the new manager had made a real difference in the short time he had been in post.

Based on the findings from this visit, Healthwatch Salford made two recommendations, surrounding: continuing to follow through with the changes to the layout and management of the home and monitoring progress carefully to ensure the continued successful and positive impact of these improvements; and all written communications and updated notes for residents being checked against the Accessible Information Standard. The report includes a positive response from the service provider.