Enter and View: Birchwood House
This was an announced Enter and View (E&V) visit, part of a planned strategy to assess the quality of supported living homes in the London Borough of Newham.
Summary
The home had 5 residents at the time of the visit with a capacity of 7 residents. The home has three units, Ground floor: Dementia, Second floor: Nursing, Third floor: Complex conditions. The home was reviewed in August 2022 by the Care Quality Commission and was graded Good – although details of their map and directions needed improving. On the day of our visits, we spoke with 2 members of the management team, 3 support workers, 3 residents and no relatives.
Key findings
- There are good positive relationships between staff and residents.
- There are lots of training opportunities available to staff to support their learning and development within their role.
- Staff are fully trained in understanding safeguarding and able to raise concerns.
- Staff and residents are aware of the Complaints and Compliments procedure.
- Residents are happy with the snacks and drinks provided by the home.
- Residents are happy with the overall service.
- Birchwood Care Home is very clean and tidy.
- The management knows the service very well.
Based on our visit we recommend the following:
- Provide the avenue for staff and residents to be interviewed without the presence and involvement of management so that a true assessment of the service could be made on future visits.
- Offer more in house activities to residents either on a 1-2-1 basis or in a group where possible, especially during the winter months to ensure they remain mentally stimulated.
- Continue the recruitment drive for permanent staff to ensure that there is the right number of staff on both the day and night shifts.
