Enter and view: St John's Residential Care Home

Healthwatch Northamptonshire completed an Enter and View visit to an elderly person’s residential facility with an upper bed capacity of 50.

The remit and areas addressed for the Enter and View include the following: personal care and dignity of the residents; staff behaviour, attitude and relationship with residents; independence of residents and control over daily life; activities for residents; relationship between the home and resident’s relatives; staff satisfaction; food and drink.

There was a good overall evaluation of the home. Residents are managed effectively. In particular it is noted that residents were encouraged to be independent and maintain control in daily life. There were ample opportunities for activities and stimulation of residents. Policies and procedures were clearly defined for complaints which is reflective of a stable staff team and other health and safety matters were efficiently discharged.

The main areas of concern relate to the process of admission and discharge to and from the local General Hospital but specifically the exchange and flow of medical information between the Residential facility to the NHS. There was also a Data Protection block on information being passed from Hospital to staff at the home which was further addressed in the recommendations section of the report. Other issues identified for improvement include key worker systems at the home, more careful oversight of how medication is dispensed and overall communication between levels of staff.