Enter and view: Bramble House
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Healthwatch Gloucestershire undertook an announced/unannounced enter and view visit to Bramble House, a dementia specialist care home, on 4 October 2023.
There was evidence of person-centred care for residents during the visit and those residents observed appeared to be dressed appropriately.
All staff, regardless of role, were evident during the serving of lunch and observed to be supporting residents with their individual needs. The food looked appetising and seemed to be enjoyed by residents who were given a choice.
Healthwatch observed wheelchairs and other equipment being left in corridors during the visit. Due to the constraints of being an older building with narrow corridors this can present trip hazards for residents and staff.
The home has a good outside space that has a lot of potential. However, they observed a number of trip hazards and there are areas of the garden that are not well maintained, for example, the raised flower/vegetable beds.
Healthwatch observed that there was signage missing from some of the doors, including residents rooms. They observed that there were no handrails on the first floor.
At the time of the visit, there was no activity co-ordinator, but the home was recruiting one. Healthwatch did not observe any activities being available to residents on an ad-hoc basis, for example, there were no magazines, books, or newspapers within easy reach of residents and no evidence of crafting activities. They did not observe any residents engaging in planned activities in the home during the visit, however, they did observe some residents being taken out by relatives.
In relation to meeting the needs of residents with dementia: There is evidence of some contrasting, for example, toilet seats, doors to residents rooms, plates etc. Some of the signage is dementia friendly, for example, signs on toilet doors. The home said that more dementia friendly signage is on order. There was a fiddle board observed on a hallway wall and a portable version available in the lounge.
Staff were visible and engaging appropriately with residents. Appropriate training and support was provided to them.
The report includes three recommendations about the physical environment and activities.