Enter and view: Westcombe Park Nursing Home

Healthwatch Greenwich undertook an unannounced enter and view visit to Westcombe Park Nursing Home on 23 January 2020 as part of a programme of visiting local care homes. They spoke to 3 residents, and 4 members of staff.

Healthwatch Greenwich felt that Westcombe Park Nursing Home provides a welcoming and homely environment. The home is in an accessible, peaceful location with parking space for visitors with disabilities. Staff and residents have good relationships with each another, and quality of care appears good.

Menu choices are impressive, however, kitchen areas (in parts) on the upper floors are dated and in need of refurbishment. Corridors in the home are very narrow with just enough room for a wheelchair to pass through. If a wheelchair user, or a trolley, is moving down a corridor, there is no room for traffic in the other direction. In the event of an evacuation, this could create a bottleneck and subsequent delay.

Improvement to the internal environment would make it more dementia-friendly. For example, painting handrails in a contrasting colour to the walls, and personalising bedroom doors to make it easier for residents to find their own room and alert staff to residents at risk of falls.

There were two recommendations about making the environment more dementia friendly.  There was no response from the provider in the report.