Enter and view: Chapel Garth Care Home

On 14th March 2019, Healthwatch Doncaster undertook an Enter and View visit in a local care home to build a picture of the quality and range of care provision in Doncaster from a resident’s perspective.

A group of 4 members, split into 2 pairs, visited the care home and observed communal areas and activities at the start of the lunchtime process. The home, with a capacity of 34, had 32 residents, all of whom had dementia.

Results of the findings suggested that the home had a caring and homely atmosphere; the residents were well cared for and looked happy; the manager and staff were welcoming, friendly, honest and open; staff and resident interactions were excellent, and the environment was clean and tidy. All four Healthwatch Authorised Representatives felt that they would be happy for a family member to reside there.

The report recommended a few changes to make the home safer and more dementia friendly. This included extending the alarm pulls in residents’ toilets to extend to just above floor length, ensure that all visitors use the signing-in book as a matter of routine, replace residents’ white raised Mowbray toilet seats with coloured ones that contrast with the white frames and toilets, replace white grab rails and bars in toilets and bathrooms with coloured ones to make them more visible and check that clocks and the calendar show the correct time and date.