Enter and View Report: Brook House
The purpose of our visit
The Health and Social Care Act 2012 allows local Healthwatch authorised representatives to observe service delivery at providers across a range of health and social care services such as hospitals, GPs, and care homes.
Enter and View visits can happen if people tell us there is a problem with a service. They can also occur when services have a good reputation, so we can learn about and share examples of good practice from the perspective of people who experience the service first hand.
Through the programme we help providers to identify what is working well with services and where they could be improved.
How does it work?
Our trained staff and volunteers visit a Greenwich health and social care service. We then spend time at the location, talking both to people receiving care and those providing it.
After our visit, we analyse all the feedback that we have collected and write a report which is published on our website. We share our reports with the organisations involved, the local commissioner, the CQC, and with Healthwatch England.
To protect the safety of service users and staff, we conduct risk assessments and DBS check all our staff and volunteers.
Executive summary and recommendations
Brook House Care home is situated in the centre of Thamesmead. The closest bus stop is 5 minutes away connecting the home with the centre of Woolwich making it an easy commute for visitors. The area is quiet and residential with shops and amenities, like the local library, close enough for residents to visit.
The building is well maintained with spacious and bright rooms. Some of the furniture and the decoration is outdated, however, the general feeling is homely and inviting. We observed the interaction between staff and residents, all examples we saw displayed an ethos of kindness and respect. Technology is used to accommodate and engage residents living with dementia, such as a projector to create exciting tableaus for games. Beautiful gardens surround the care home where residents and relatives can visit and join activities such as barbecues and weekly afternoon tea.
Recommendations
1. Recommendation: Display photographs and names of key staff members in communal areas to assist both residents and visitors.
2. Recommendation: Increase training opportunity for staff to develop greater skills and knowledge to promote and maintain the wellbeing of residents.
3. Recommendation: Develop activities and encourage engagement with spiritual leaders and local community groups.
4. Recommendation: Refurbish parts of the walls, handrails and doors that are in disrepair.
5. Recommendation: Modernise lounge/dining areas to make a more inviting space for residents.
6. Recommendation: Improve display of residents’ dietary requirements in the kitchen.
7. Recommendation: Organise and facilitate regular dental care visits for residents.
Downloads
Read and download the full report.
Note that we have not yet had a response from the provider, Bond Care.
