Enter and view: Mary Fisher House

Healthwatch North Yorkshire carried out an Enter and View visit to Neville House in Gargrave on 30 August 2018. Overall, the home was found to provide a good standard of care in a welcoming, homely and community-focused environment. Residents said they felt safe and happy, staff were observed to be friendly and supportive, and the home maintained strong links with the local community through schools, volunteers and local activities.

Residents spoke positively about staff, food and the range of activities available, including outings, bingo, gardening projects and visits from animals. Healthwatch also highlighted the home’s use of telemedicine, which enabled residents to access medical advice quickly and helped avoid unnecessary hospital admissions. Regular support from GPs, district nurses, dentists, chiropodists and opticians was also in place. 

Staff described a positive working environment, good training opportunities and strong relationships with residents. Healthwatch observed recent efforts to make the environment more dementia friendly, including changes to colour schemes, signage and the introduction of dementia champions. Residents were encouraged to maintain independence and remain involved in decisions about their care. 

Healthwatch concluded that Neville House was delivering caring, person-centred support with high levels of resident satisfaction. Recommendations focused on further improving dementia-friendly features, particularly through clearer signage and environmental adaptations, and increasing the number of staff trained to support residents living with dementia.