Enter and View Report: Nazareth House Cheltenham, November 2022

This report details Healthwatch Gloucestershire’s Enter and View of Nazareth House. Nazareth House is a purpose-built residential care home which provides accommodation and personal care for older people. This visit was part of Healthwatch Gloucestershire’s ongoing partnership working with Gloucestershire County Council to support quality monitoring of residential care homes in the county. The visit was carried out by six authorised representatives that are trained to conduct Enter and Views. The team spoke to the six members of staff (this includes two agency workers and two members of the management team) and nine residents. During the visit information was collected from observations of residents in their day-to-day situations, including lunch, conversations with staff, residents, and members of the management team, against a series of agreed questions. At the end of the visit there was a final team discussion to review and collate findings and provide initial feedback to the management team.  

The following are the key findings from the visit and should be considered alongside the further information provided later in the report.

• The home and staff were very welcoming for the duration of the visit. The interim deputy manager was particularly welcoming and made himself available across the whole visit.
• The home was clean, light and airy. The corridors and communal spaces were spacious. The home is undergoing some refurbishments and the areas that have been completed, for example the reception area, were particularly pleasant, well-furnished and comfortable.
• There are significant staffing challenges for the home with a reliance on agency staff to meet these challenges. Staff were happy to speak to us during the visit. Permanent staff described not always feeling valued or listened to.
• Some interactions between staff and residents were observed to be functional rather than meaningful.
• The activity co-ordinator post is currently vacant and therefore there isn’t an activity programme available for residents. End of life is managed with dignity and respect.
• The chapel offers regular services and provides a valuable quiet space for residents and staff to use.
• The home is attached to a convent, and we heard that the nuns (six) regularly spend time with the residents; this was not observed during our visit. We also heard that the priest holds the chapel services.