Enter and view: Highclere care home

This is an Enter and View report by Healthwatch Milton Keynes.

Healthwatch Milton Keynes visited the Highclere Care Home. A total of 9 residents and 3 family members were spoken to during the visit. This was an announced visit.

There are recommendations in this report.

• A suggestion has been made to all Care Homes to develop a Biography service. This could be carried out by a local school or parish volunteers. Residents can record memories of their life or may wish to write letters to specific people in their family. Photos could be included; the biography can be as short or long as they want and can be incorporated into reminiscence therapy sessions.
• If help is required with activities or support for residents with dementia, it may be useful to contact a local memory club.
• Consider the possibility of installing a ramp at the entrance, exit from the conservatory to the patio area, this is a small drop of only three or four inches but, for wheelchair users, less mobile, or visually impaired residents, makes mobility on their own very restricted.
• Consider ways of alleviating isolation for those residents that have mobility issues, more one to one time with care staff, more time in group situations, enlist the help of volunteer groups such as befriending services to sit and talk with residents.
• Explore options for more varied activities when your activities lead is on leave, the residents were very aware that they also had a ‘holiday’ from activities whilst she was on leave.
• We would like to commend the instances of inclusion and best practice in offering vegetarian meal options. A further suggestion would be that incorporating the ‘Dignified Dining’3 guidelines would further enhance the mealtime experience for residents, particularly when thinking of the value of family and friends as part of protected mealtimes.

There are no follow up recommendations in this report. The provider did acknowledge the report though there is no other detail.