Archived: Afton Court Residential Home

People told us they had been included in their assessment of needs and that they knew about their care plans, but had not read them. They said they did not remember signing documents, but thought they would have done.

People we spoke to told us different views about their care and living in the home. One said they were self caring for personal hygiene and dressing, but needed help with bathing. Another said they were a little more dependent and needed help getting washed and dressed in the morning, while a third said they could not mobilise without full assistance from staff in using their walking frame.

The majority of people said they got up in the morning and went to bed at night when they wished, but that they wished to do more activities like going out. One person said she joined in with the impromptu sing-a-longs that sometimes took place, but that the books available in the home were not to her liking. Another said her key worker took her out shopping. Everyone spoken to said their finances were held by the home and they were satisfied with the arrangements.

One relative spoken to said she was not quite sure that staff had been caring well enough for her spouse or meeting his needs, as she thought staff had not been trained in dementia care and had not always understood his needs, had not always attend to his personal care needs and had not always made sure he ate well enough.

People told us they very much liked the food on offer. They confirmed that the food and diet was good. They said, "Food is good," "I really enjoy it" and "It's fine, I'm quite satisfied." People said they were happy with food, that they were sometimes asked what they wanted to have on the menu, but were not always clear about what was on offer on a daily basis. They said they were not always asked about making a daily choice. One said, "Usually they come and tell us in the morning, but I don't know what is for tea today." The menu was not displayed anywhere and there were no picture menus to look at to aid people with memory impairment.

People we spoke to said they had been comfortable living in the home, and had felt safe there. They said they would go to the manager if they had any concerns or worries. One said she would talk to the manager and while she was not there would talk to the 'new people', though she did not remember their names. She also said she did not know them yet, but was happy to talk to the staff. People said they were treated well by staff. One acknowledged that sometimes other people living there shouted or got cross about things and sometimes tried to hit one another.

People said they thought their rooms were clean and comfortable.

People spoken to were only asked about the arrangements in place for the handling of their medication and if they looked after it themselves. They told us that the home took charge of all medication and that they were satisfied with this, as they did not want it to go missing, to be taken in error or to be forgotten.

People said they usually received the help they needed from staff but that they sometimes had to wait. One person asked us to help her to the dining table at lunch time as she thought we were part of the staffing team. They said they did not always get out enough as there was not sufficient staff to take them.

We briefly spoke to people in the home about what they did if they were unhappy or wished to complain. They said they spoke to the manager or the staff. They said they had not had any complaints in the last few months.