Enter and View: Becket House care home

The purpose of this Enter and View programme was to engage with residents, their relatives, or carers, to explore their overall experience of living in Becket House care home. As well as building a picture of their general experience, we asked about experiences in relation to social isolation and physical activity.

Summary

Becket House is registered to provide residential and nursing care to people over 65 years of age, and people who are living with dementia. The nursing home is registered for a maximum of 27 service users, and there were 21 residents living at the home at the time of our visit.

What we found

Residents and their families told us the staff were well liked by them and we observed that interactions were kind and caring. Residents appeared to be relaxed and happy when chatting with care staff and staff were seen to be observant and responsive to residents’ needs...

People we spoke to were, on the whole, aware of their care plans and the residents, or the relatives of those without capacity, said they were able to contribute...

Family members we spoke to said that the home communicated regularly and very well with them...

Families and visitors can take their loved ones into the garden for a walk, and morning or afternoon tea is often served in the garden to those residents who wish to sit outside. ...

The activities coordinator knew all the residents by name, and knew their abilities so runs the activities at a speed to suit her audience. In all of our conversations, this staff member was spoken of very highly.  

Our recommendations include:

• Continue the dementia friendly journey by inviting the Specialist Memory Service, the Dementia Information Service, or similar organisation to assess/ re-assess residents whose dementia may have progressed during the pandemic.
• Continue to investigate options for volunteers to increase lunchtime cover for mealtimes for those who require additional assistance.