Enter & View Report: Grovelands, Yeovil

Good practive and recommendations:

Hospital Discharge: Good Practice

• Develop a form called 'All about me' which accompanies any resident being admitted to hospital. This contains details of the person such as, their likes and dislikes, their wishes and their preferences.
• Discussions are common practice between the care home and hospital staff relating to the appropriateness of hospital discharge. Early liaison with social workers and district nurses are also seen as important factors to help limit some of the problems experienced.

Hospital Discharge: Recommendations

• None identified. Although problems still exist it was recognised that the staff of Grovelands have put many initiatives in place to limit these.

Staff - Good Practice

• Staff kept a presence in or near communal areas at all times when residents were present in these areas
• Staff training in;
  - Best Interests Guidance (helping to ensure those who lack capacity have their opinions sought and their wishes acted on.)
  - NVQ level 2 (90% of all staff)
  - Dementia awareness (all support staff)
  - Palliative care.
  - Life story book training.
• Staff encouraged to use their talent and skills in creative ways to help meet the needs of residents and enhance their environment.

Control and Choice: Good Practice

• Support to help residents who lack capacity to access IMCA (Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy service) when life changing decisions need to be made. Advocacy services are also offered by age UK
• Staff given time to help new residents settle in and get to know them.
• A post box and corner shop facilities supplied, giving residents not only the choice of available goods but also the independence use these facilities.
• Hand rails continued across doors where areas such as staff office and broom cupboards were helping to ensure that residents are able to wonder around the home while minimising the risk to themselves and the chances of wondering into unfamiliar areas.
• Use of yellow and red paint in communal areas where residents can safely wonder.
• Personalised space and walls out side of people's rooms and a choice of colour paint for bedroom doors.
• Specialist Residential Care unit provides tactile wall hangings and boxes containing tactile objects in corridors which can reduce anxiety and stimulate the senses.

Control and Choice: Recommendations

• Continue to raise awareness of Somerset LINk and local advocacy services and ensure residents know how to access them.

Communication: Good practice

• Opportunities for residents and family members to participate in regular residents meetings.
• Involvement of cooks and activities co-ordinators at residents meetings.
• Use of the form 'Mental Capacity Best Interest Check list' to prompt staff to ensure they have acted in the best interests of a resident and helped them to re-gain capacity.
• Residents Information Pack includes information about all aspects of the home, meals, activities and how to complain or raise concerns including information about Advocacy services and the local LINk
• Skype Video phoning was available for residents to contact family and friends.

Communication: Recommendations

• The team commented that a hearing loop, audible aids and specialist advice may still be able to enhance the communication of some residents and visitors and that the home should seek advice from the Royal National Institute for the Deaf about this.

Eating and nutritional care: Good Practice

• Vegetarian choice offered.
• Meals available to visitors.
• Choices of plated meals are shown to residents, making it easier for them to make informed decisions about their choice from the menu.
• Snacks and drinks are available between meals and offered regularly including an option for residents own snacks and drinks preferences to be stored and served by care staff.
• Staff offer assistance at intervals throughout meals in a non assuming way giving the resident choice and the option to try independently.
• Choice offered to residents in where to eat with staff offering assistance as required.
• Dinning chairs easy to move while maintaining stability.
• Visitors always welcomed to stay and eat. Meals are recognised as a social time to be shared with friends and family.
• Fresh fruit smoothies offered as a natural alternative to vitamin supplements.
• Much effort had been made to ensure that specific aids blended in and looked normal to help residents to maintain their dignity.
• 'Food Links UK' guidance on 'Best Practice in Food Procurement' are followed.

Eating and nutritional care: Recommendations

• None identified

Pain management in practice: Good practice

• Use of Proactive Care System (PCS) soon to be introduced
• Training in pain awareness given to all care staff including night staff

Pain management in practice: Recommendations

• None identified.

Personal hygiene: Good practice

• None identified

Personal hygiene: Recommendations

• None identified.

Practical assistance: Good practice

• Staff observed were always available to residents in communal areas.

Privacy in practice: Good practice

• Maintaining a good relationship with local GP's who visit regularly.
• Regular visiting health services such as chiropody, opticians and a therapist also offers head massage to residents.
• Residents were able to lock their doors from inside. And valuables could be locked away.

Privacy in practice: Recommendations

• None identified.

Social inclusion in practice: Good practice

• Supporting people to access the wider community by making use of community transport, arranging quarterly trips out, supporting residents to access local coffee mornings and a club for the blind.
• Visiting services come to the home such as.
  - Pets at Home,
  - The Guides (who provide a postal service and singing entertainment),
  - The Donkey Sanctuary who visit with donkeys,
  - Guide dogs,
  - Old fashioned sweet shop
  - Clothes direct.
• One room has been turned into a 'Bar' and had started to be decorated like a pub. Residents can socialise here, and play pub.
• Hair dressing salon provided. Residents own hair dressers may use this area enabling residents to maintain consistence by being able to continue use the hairdresser they chose to use when living in their own home

Social inclusion in practice: Recommendations

• Build links with Active Living Centres to create more social networking opportunities and further broaden activities.

For more information

For more information read the full report or contact Jonathan Yelland on jonathon.yelland@helpandcare.org.uk.