Enter and View: Caton House care home

The purpose of this Enter and View programme was to engage with residents, and their relatives or carers, to explore their overall experience of living in Caton 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

The purpose-built home is registered to provide nursing and residential care for a maximum of 62 residents, over the age of 65. At the time of our visit there were 51 residents at the care home, of which 38 residents had a dementia diagnosis.

What we found

First impressions at Caton House are good, the reception area is open and well-presented, and the staff are welcoming and friendly. Caton House has many staff and residents who have been at the home for a considerable length of time. The Chef has been with the care home for many years and takes an active interest in the views of residents who are particularly fond of her pastry and baking skills. Family members felt that the special dietary requirements needs of residents were well met.

The activity team, and the volunteers that help them, try hard to keep residents entertained. We noted that they do an excellent job at ensuring residents that are mobile or partially mobile are included.

 We were very concerned to find several bedrooms with prominent notices regarding  swallowing precautions, and very clearly stating that 'sippy cups' and straws were not to be used by these residents, but these residents had those cups on their tables. We raised this immediately at the nurses’ station and with the management team on the day of our visit

Our recommendations include:

• Improve staff training around the understanding of the importance of following:
  Speech and Language Therapist instructions with regards to fluids/drinks, and the reasons for using the appropriate drinking cups/straws.
• To support the dementia journey of residents, more dementia friendly signage and friendly supportive decor would be helpful such as hot and cold labels on all taps in shower rooms and toilets. In addition, there are no clocks with day/date and time displays visible in the care home although the majority of residents have mild to moderate dementia on both floors.
• Investigate the cause of the unpleasant odour on throughout the home, while it is not overpowering, it is very present.
• Consider ways of improving the provision of activities for those less mobile residents to enrich daily living at Caton House. Also consider adding some male-orientated activities.

Examples of best practice

The home has a small team of volunteers that help with activities who are dedicated
and passionate individuals.

The response

We would like to thank the staff at Caton House for their thorough response to our report and recommendations. It is clear they care deeply about continual improvements, and work incredibly hard to make life as comfortable and safe as possible for all residents. Their positive reaction and collaborative approach is exemplary.