Enter and view: Puddingstone Grange Care Home

Healthwatch Greenwich undertook an Enter and View visit to Puddingstone Grange Care Home on 21 February 2018. Overall, the home was found to be clean, welcoming and well maintained, with residents generally positive about the care they received. The home offered residential, nursing, dementia and mental health care, and had previously been rated Good by the Care Quality Commission. 

Residents spoke positively about the environment, activities and staff. The home provided a wide range of activities, access to outings through its own minibus, a hair salon and dementia-friendly features such as memory boxes, personalised bedroom doors and pictorial signage. Staff were observed interacting warmly and respectfully with residents, and residents reported feeling listened to and well supported.

A small number of areas for improvement were identified. Some residents were unclear about their care plans and level of involvement in care decisions, while awareness of the complaints process was limited. One resident also suggested that more culturally diverse food options would better reflect the backgrounds of people living in the home.

Overall, Healthwatch concluded that Puddingstone Grange provided a positive, lively and person-centred environment with strong staff-resident relationships and a good range of activities. Recommendations focused on increasing residents' awareness of their care plans, improving understanding of how to raise concerns and expanding menu choices to reflect greater cultural diversity.