Forest Care Village Elstree and Borehamwood

Updated 18 January 2024

Forest Care Village Elstree and Borehamwood is a care home with nursing. It provides accommodation with nursing or personal care to up to 178 people in one purpose-built premises. Care is organised on three floors comprising of three separate communities, providing general nursing care, care for people living with brain injury or physical disabilities and people living with dementia. This was the first assessment of this service carried out under our single assessment framework. Assessment activity took place between 11 January 2024 and 13 March 2024. We visited the service on 11,23 and 26 January 2024. This was an unannounced assessment. We looked at 13 quality statements: learning culture, safeguarding, involving people to manage risk, safe environments, infection prevention and control, safe effective staffing, medicines optimisation, delivering evidence-based care and treatment, kindness, compassion and dignity, independence, choice and control, responding to people’s immediate needs, equity in experiences and outcomes and freedom to speak up. We identified breaches in regulations in relation to medicines management, infection prevention and control, managing risk, consent to care, person centred care, dignity and respect and management oversight. The provider has been responsive in addressing the concerns we raised throughout the site visits.

Updated 18 January 2024

People had mixed views about the care they received. Some people told us the service met their needs well and they were happy living at the service. However, other people raised concerns about the quality of the care, the environment and the social opportunities available to them. We observed the care provided to people who were not able to tell us about their experience and found care was often task focused. Staff engagement was minimal and people’s opportunities for meaningful occupation were limited. Care provided to some people, particularly on the Rainforest Community supporting people living with dementia, was not dignified and did not meet their social and emotional needs.