Visits to Care Homes in Hertfordshire - Phase 1
Our reports are public documents and we share them with the commissioners and providers of the service we are visiting. We also share them with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Healthwatch England.
During 2014 to 2017 we ran a project to look at the quality of life of individuals living in care homes in respect of environment, leisure and services, digital inclusion and food and drink. We also wanted to see if NICE guidelines that recommend that older people in care homes are given support and opportunities to express themselves as individuals were being considered.
This is Phase 1 of a rolling programme of care home visits in order to review outcomes at defined intervals. We have consulted with the Clinical Commissioning Groups, Hertfordshire County Council, Hertfordshire Care Providers Association and our local Care Quality Commission Compliance managers as well as looked at feedback from the community to choose the first 12 homes.
What we found
Residents told us they were able to choose how and what they wanted to be involved in and had choice over meal times. They felt well cared for and were treated with kindness and dignity by staff. However the environment in some homes was not ideal and needed refurbishment. Digital inclusion in most homes was poor but was something homes were beginning to prioritise.
We made recommendations for improvement in each of the homes we visited.
What changed as a result of our visits
- Residents became more involved in planning activities at several of the homes we visited.
- Increased awareness and use of local resources by homes to support physical and mental wellbeing.
- Adaptations like grab rails, orientation clocks and signage installed in some care homes.
- Improvements to the meal time experience for example through training to support residents and use of picture and large print menus.
- Refurbishment plans of some care homes incorporating recommendations from our reports.
Visit Reports
If you require any of these reports in another format, please get in touch.
Are you looking for current information about a care home in this article?
The Care Quality Commission monitors, inspects, and regulates services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety and publish what they find, (including performance ratings) to help people choose care.
Click on the button below to access the Commission's 'find a care home' search engine and read the most up to date quality report published by their inspectors.
