Enter and View Report: 30a Charlton Road
The purpose of our visit
We’re carrying out a series of visits to learning disability care homes, supported living, and respite facilities in Greenwich to understand the quality of life, and views of those using the service and the experience and perceptions of relatives and carers.
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
30(a) Charlton Road is located in a busy part of Blackheath, offering convenient access to a variety of shops and amenities. The home offers off-street parking and good connections to public transport links, ensuring easy accessibility for visitors and residents alike. Designed to cater to individuals with learning disabilities and mobility issues, the home is currently operating at full capacity, with four residents. During our visit, we observed compassionate and respectful care, fostering a warm and homely atmosphere. Residents are encouraged to participate in a wide range of activities, both within the home and in the community, promoting engagement and well-being. We received positive feedback from two families about the care provided. They praised the attentiveness of support workers in meeting residents' needs. However, one family member wanted more communication and updates from the home. While families are welcome to visit and share their views, the home does not offer group meetings or newsletters, which could provide additional opportunities for updates and feedback.
Recommendations
- Improve the display of information in the reception area to ensure that visitors can easily find what they need.
- Include information on how to lodge a complaint directly with the Care Quality Commission or the council in the reception area.
- Display photographs and names of key staff members in the reception area.
- Introduce a newsletter and/or group meetings to provide families with updates about the home, upcoming events, changes in policies, and highlights of residents' activities.
- Increase the frequency and detail of proactive updates provided to families about their loved ones.
