Enter and view: Philiphaugh Manor Care Home

Healthwatch Cornwall undertook an enter and view visit to Philiphaugh Manor Care Home on 14 October 2025.

Overall, the care home was found to provide a warm, caring, and generally well-managed environment. Interactions between staff and residents were observed to be respectful and supportive, and residents appeared comfortable, clean, and engaged in activities. The premises were clean, well maintained in appearance, and equipped with appropriate safety, hygiene, and security measures. 

Residents gave consistently positive feedback about staff, describing them as kind, attentive, and supportive. Many residents said they felt respected and well cared for, with some noting that staff made them feel like part of a family. Food quality and variety were praised, and residents generally liked their rooms and living environment, though some expressed a preference for staying in their own space rather than communal areas. 

Staff also spoke positively about the working environment and management support. However, they highlighted several challenges, particularly around staffing pressures during sickness absence, reliance on overseas staff, and the limitations of an older building requiring ongoing maintenance. Management additionally raised concerns about difficulties accessing GP services, inconsistent weekly GP visits, and issues with external agencies such as social services making inappropriate referrals or discharging residents from hospital too early. 

The report identified several key areas for improvement. These included the need for a clearly structured programme of building maintenance, regular review of staffing levels to ensure resilience, expanding activities to better include less socially engaged residents, and improving relationships and coordination with GP services and social care teams. 

In response, the provider stated that systems for maintenance and staffing contingency planning were already in place and questioned whether some recommendations accurately reflected existing practices. However, they agreed with the need to improve relationships with external healthcare and social care services.