On the day of out visit there were five people living at Redlands Residential care home. We were able to meet and speak with all five people during our visit. Everyone said that they liked living at Redlands. They said they thought the staff were 'excellent' and that they would feel able to make a complaint if they were unhappy. People told us they took part in a range of activities. This included going to the Gateway Club, the cinema, the Art Centre as well as trips further away to London, and trips to visit their family members.
People told us how they attended weekly house meetings where they had the opportunity to voice their opinions. There was a meeting on the day of our visit and we were invited to attend.
Service users showed us their bedrooms. We saw that people had a key to their room. These were all individual and full of personal items and possessions. People told us they liked their bedrooms and had chosen the colour schemes. One person told us how they had chosen their own bedroom furniture.
Service users told us how they enjoyed gardening and how they were growing their own strawberries and vegetables.
People who used service said:
'I'm very happy at Redlands, its better than other places I've lived in'
'Redlands is good, I like it'
'I like my room. I've got all my things here. I can spend time watching my DVD's'
'We have booklets about how to make a complaint. I haven't made a complaint yet, but I would talk to Pat, (the manager) or Alex and they would sort it out'
'We take turns washing up and cooking',
'We have got a new shower room. It's really good. They have made a good job of it',
'We now get our own breakfasts in the morning'
And
'I like the staff. I have two keyworkers. I talk to them about what I want to do in the future'.