Enter and view: Dalton Court Care Home

Healthwatch Cumberland carried out an announced Enter & View visit to Dalton Court Care Home in Cockermouth on 8 April 2025. They spoke to 19 people.

The home has capacity for 60 residents and provides personal and nursing care across two floors, with the upper floor dedicated to people living with dementia. At the time of the visit, 48 residents were living there.

The environment was found to be clean, spacious and secure, with personalised bedrooms, accessible gardens and several communal lounges and dining rooms. Staff were observed to be kind, responsive and maintaining good relationships with residents. However, an odour was noticeable on the first floor later in the visit.

Residents generally felt well cared for and were positive about staff, although some reported loneliness due to staff not having time for extended conversation. Opinions on activities were mixed: while the home has an activities room and a minibus for trips, residents said they were uncertain about what activities were available, as the activity schedule was not displayed during the visit. Food was described as good, although one resident said the menu was not always shown before mealtimes.

Relatives were largely happy with the care provided and praised communication—particularly during periods when their family members required hospital care. Several relatives said they would recommend the home to others.

Staff reported feeling well trained and supported, with safe staffing levels. However, they noted that cleaning capacity had recently been reduced from two cleaners per floor to one.

Healthwatch identified several areas for improvement. These included improving telephone signal, reviewing chair heights for comfort, developing a resident information handbook, creating a companion volunteer role, repainting worn handrails on the dementia floor, adding a bird feeder to the bird‑watching area, and reviewing the cleaning schedule in light of reduced staffing.