Enter and view: Broomfield Residential Care

Healthwatch Milton Keynes carried out an Enter and View visit to Broomfield, a privately-owned residential care home that was occupied by 28 residents at the time of the visit. A number of the residents at Broomfield were living with impaired cognitive ability. This visit was carried out as part of Healthwatch Milton Keynes’ Enter and View programme.

During the visit, the following aspects were considered: social engagement and activity, staff interaction, premises and lunchtime. Positive findings included: the premises were clean with plenty of natural light; lunchtime was calm and relaxed, and residents were satisfied with the food provided at the home. Areas for improvement included: there were limited examples of opportunity for social engagement or activities and the environment was absent of stimulation for residents; the premises lacked a homely feel; there may be a requirement for staff development in meeting the needs of residents with hearing impairments and other conditions.

The residents who were able to communicate verbally expressed frustration at the lack of stimulation. In general, comments about residents’ treatment by staff were positive, however some comments suggested issues around staff having enough time and variability in the quality of care provided.

Healthwatch Milton Keynes made several recommendations around: ensuring residents have daily opportunities for social development and engagement in activities; improving staff interaction with residents to ensure consistent care that addresses residents’ social, emotional and communication needs, as well as their physical needs; making the premises more homely, stimulating and social; encouraging staff to use mealtimes as an opportunity to engage with residents. The report includes a response from the provider outlining an action plan of what will be done to address the recommendations made by Healthwatch Milton Keynes.