7 March 2012
During a routine inspection
We observed staff always taking their time to actively listen and take into account what the people who use the service had to say. For example, we saw staff actively supporting people who had expressed an interesting in playing music pursue this leisure activity.
People we spoke with told us staff treated them well and always respected their privacy and dignity. Typical comments we received from people who live at Heathercroft, included: 'The staff are nice', 'I like my key-worker', 'Staff knock on my bedroom door before they come in', and 'I have my own key for my bedroom so I can lock it if I want'. Throughout the course of our visit it was positively noted that care staff always interacted with the people who use the service with the utmost respect and courtesy.
The feedback we received from people we spoke with about the opportunities they had to join in meaningful activities and pursue their social interests was also very positive. Typical comments made by people we met, included: 'I go out lots", "I like going swimming, bowling and to the cinema', 'I like playing music in the activities room', and 'I go to college every week'. It was positively noted during a tour of the premises that the service had created a new activities room since we last visited Heathercroft, which staff said was a 'big hit' with the people who lived there.
People we met also told us staff help them do as much for themselves as they want. Typical comments we received, included: 'I go shopping for food every week with staff, 'I do my own laundry now', and 'I will have to vacuum the lounge this week because its my turn'.
All the people we spoke with about their bedrooms told us they liked the way they had been decorated. During a tour of the premises it was positively noted that it looked clean and all the bedrooms we viewed were suitably furnished and decorated to a reasonable standard.
However, the feedback we received from people who use the service and staff that worked there was on the whole quite negative about the overall decorative state of Heathercroft. There has clearly been a significant delay in addressing all the aforementioned repair and refurbishment issues mentioned above. Most are not new and the provider must not allow the home to remain in such a poor decorative state without taking the necessary action to remedy any structural or environmental defects.