Enter & View: Allambie Court

Healthwatch Warwickshire conducted an unannounced Enter and View visit to Allambie Court, a nursing home with 23 residents, and 34 staff members, to ensure that standards achieved during the most recent Care Quality Commission inspection had been maintained.

The visit was facilitated by the registered manager who had been in post for 14 years. At the time of the visit all the windows and curtains were being replaced, a communal shower was being installed and all the bedroom furniture was being replaced with dementia friendly furniture. The home had one activity coordinator.

The reception area was spacious and formed part of the main home. The communal dining rooms and lounges were were clean and bright and showed signs of recent redecoration to a good standard. The furniture in these areas was clean and of a good standard. However, The condition of decoration in the communal corridors was old and the availability of communal bathing facilities for the number of

residents accommodated at Allambie Court was not enough. Another concern was that the emergency pull cords in communal toilets being tied up or not reaching floor level.

There was friendly and respectful interaction between staff and residents and they appeared to be comfortable, clean and well dressed for the current weather conditions.

The team spoke to 3 members of staff and one of them did not feel that they received regular support, and there was “room for improvement” although they acknowledged the Registered Manager had an open door policy. The other two members of staff felt that they received enough support.

A relative commented that they felt the home was understaffed and regular checks on their relative were not carried out as they should be due to the lack of staff. They did comment that the staff “do anything they ask”.

The report makes the following recommendations:

- The redecoration of communal corridors is undertaken.

- That the concerns around the availability of communal bathing facilities is addressed by the provider.

- The role of activity coordinator is assessed to see if the current hours/days are sufficient to meet the social interaction needs of all residents at the home.

- All staff to wear name badges to assist residents, relatives and visitors with identification.

A follow up visit was recommended in 6 months to follow up on the planned improvements discussed with the Registered Manager and on Healthwatch Warwickshire’s recommendations and to report back on these.