Contents:
Services Offered
The Physical Environment
Communications
Keeping in Touch
Property Location
Call Bell System
Therapeutic Activities
Making a Complaint and Giving Compliments
Privacy and Dignity

Eleighwater House Retirement Home has 5 bedrooms, 4 of which are on the first floor; 1 downstairs with full bathroom facilities including bath seat and shower. There is a stair lift fitted for those that need it. All rooms have electric beds t.v points and access to the Internet. There is a call bell system, so if Residents need help they can always contact someone 24 hours a day.

All rooms have en-suite facilities with toilet and hand basin, these rooms meet the required usable size 12 square meters, as set out by The Care Quality Commission. There is a large bathroom with shower, also a bath with battery powered bath seat. There are grab rails in shower and bath. All residents will be assisted if required when bathing and showering, whilst respecting their dignity. All taps are fitted with temperature-controlled valves to avoid scalding. There is a large lounge with a library, incorporating many novel, non-fiction and fiction.

Books of interest and a selection of large print books and Audio books can be supplied by the library. There is a comprehensive music collection, and films for those wet rainy days. Games and puzzles are available, and residents are actively encouraged to join in and take part. There is a kitchen breakfast room where residents can have breakfast and meals, or they may prefer to eat in their rooms or in the dining room, large enough for Sunday lunch with the family. When the weather is good we have a beautiful veranda where residents can sit out, and enjoy the garden and wildlife, or plant flowerpots and baskets or they can paint

 

Services Offered

• The following services are provided at The Home’s location:
• Care home service without nursing
• The following regulated activities apply to services provided by The Home:
• Accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care
• The Home provides services for the following bands of Service User:
• Older people
  – Sensory impairment
  – Dementia
• The following Care and Support Services are provided by The Home:
• Alzheimer’s
  – Parkinson’s Disease
  – Respite Care
  – Day Care
• Service User Care Plans are reviewed on an individual basis, according to assessed need, but at least every month.

 

The Physical Environment

• Service User at Eleighwater House Retirement Home enjoy the following facilities:
• A full automatic fire alarm system, and an emergency lighting system;
• A room call system covering each room;
• A distinct dining area, where the menu choice for several days in advance is displayed;
• The home has 5 en suite bedrooms offering high quality decor and comfort.
• Each resident is evaluated for their individual requirements  and if they needed special equipment the home supplies it thorough the assistance of either the District nurses or the Independent living team.
• Outings are arranged wherever possible usually 2 residents at a time,
• Home cooked food using residents menu choices.
• Pet friendly Home.

 

Communications
Service User / Principal carers committee

• The committee provides a recognised forum for the airing of the views of Service Users and principal family carers. Participation in decision-making is encouraged and valued. A member of staff acts as secretary to the committee.
• Any funds raised by events are held in a separate account, the signatories of which are one staff member and one Service User representative, and are available only for use in ways approved and controlled by the committee.

Keeping in Touch

• Visitors are very welcome at The Home at any time that is convenient for you. Principal carers and/or family and friends may telephone us at any time, day or night, to enquire about your well-being. We will always try to enable you to speak directly to the person telephoning, and if that is not possible we will pass on messages for you.
• Visitors are asked to sign in and out in the visitor’s book to comply with health and safety requirements. We also request that all visitors comply with health and safety notices, and do not introduce hazardous substances or materials into the establishment or bring in food from outside without checking first with the person in charge.
• Special news, details of staff changes, changes in the organisation of The Home, minutes of the Service User’s meetings and advance notice of events will be posted on a notice board in a public area.
• A telephone for your use is available, at wheelchair users’ height, and with a comfortable seat adjacent. Any member of staff will help you to access the telephone if you need help. It may be possible, subject to the telephone supplier’s requirements, to have a private telephone line fitted to your own bedroom; in this instance you will be responsible for installation charges and your own telephone bills. You are also very welcome to use the telephone in the office for privacy – to do so please ask any member of staff.
• Your mail will be given to you as it arrives, unopened, unless you have requested that it be forwarded to another person. In the latter case we will forward your mail, unopened, weekly.
• Links with the community are encouraged. Your Key Worker will help you to maintain your network of friends and family, and also help you to visit shops and places of interest.

Property Location

• The home is set in 6.5 acres of grounds some garden some fields and orchards. Chard is 1 mile away and residents are taken shopping or on outings as they request.
• The home is a Georgian built property, very attractive.
• The gardens are accessible and full of beautiful plants and flowers. The residents enjoy sitting under the verandah where they can enjoy some gardening activities if they wish.

Call Bell System
A call bell system call point is located in your room and at appropriate points throughout The Home, enabling you to summon assistance from staff at all times. You should always feel comfortable calling for help at any time of the day or night, whenever you require it.

Therapeutic Activities

• Eleighwater House Retirement Home has a policy of actively promoting the maintenance of Service Users’ normal social network and social activities. Each Service User’s Care Plan includes a facility for recording life history, social network and contacts, and preferences for activities and hobbies such that that staff are made aware of these, and the Service User is offered access to those networks and activities which are appropriate and desired. The policy of The Home is that activities and networking support are a part of normal daily living, and support for access will be available at all times.
• The Home possesses some specialised equipment for the use of Service Users with sensory loss such as loss of sight and hearing.
• The home can make adaptations for any resident who has sensory loss, residents are assessed on their needs, we will only take those who we can provide care for.

Making a Complaint and Giving Compliments

We believe that complaints and compliments are a valuable indicator of the quality of our service, and an opportunity to improve that quality. We assure all Service Users that no-one will be victimised for making a complaint, we encourage Service Users to instigate the complaints procedure whenever they feel that this is necessary. We do not wish to confine complaints to major issues.

We encourage Service Users to comment when relatively minor matters are a problem to them, such as receiving cold food, or being kept waiting without explanation, or being spoken to in a manner that they do not like. It is our policy that all matters which disturb or upset a Service User should be reported, recorded, and corrective action should be taken. Only in that way can we work towards meeting our aim of continuously improving our service.

Our commitment is that:

• All complaints will be taken seriously.
• All complaints will be acted upon with fairness and impartiality.
• You will receive a response within 24 hours of the complaint being made, and a final reply within 28 days.
• If the complaint is upheld, you will receive a written apology and appropriate action will be taken to rectify the complaint, and you will be informed of what that action is.
• Service Users are entitled to involve an impartial third party in the complaint procedure if they so wish.

Service Users and their representatives may take their complaints to persons in authority outside The Home. For Service Users funded all or in part by Social Services or the Clinical Commissioning Group, complaints may in the first instance be directed to them. For privately funded Service User, a range of advocacy services are available locally and they will be happy to help you deal with the complaint. In the event of a serious issue and complaint, you should contact the CQC.

For full documentation and complaint forms, please download our Statement of Purpose.

Privacy and Dignity

• We aim to respect your privacy and dignity at all times. Please speak out, or speak to the supervisor or Registered Manager if your privacy or dignity is not being respected.

Service Users’ privacy:

• All Service Users have the right to be alone or undisturbed and to be free from public attention or intrusion into their private affairs.
• Service Users’ personal rooms will have a lock fitted such as is appropriate to their needs, and the Service Users will be provided with a key unless a documented risk assessment indicates that this is inappropriate. Decisions in this respect will be recorded in the Service User’s Plan and signed as agreed by the Service User or Advocate.
• All Service Users will have access to a locked cabinet in their room, or to a locked cash box.
• Particular attention will be given to preserving privacy in the use of bathrooms, toilets and when dressing and undressing. At the same time, health and safety and personal risk management will be considered and discussed.
• Any building or equipment fault which reduces the privacy of any Service User must be reported to the Registered Manager.
• Staff will not discuss Service Users or their affairs within earshot of anyone not directly concerned with their care. Discussion of Service Users and their affairs will be for the purposes of managing and improving their care, and not as entertainment, e.g. gossip.
• Service Users will always be offered privacy for personal discussions.
• Records will be designed, used and stored so as to assure privacy. Legislative controls over records, such as the Data Protection Act, will be adhered to, and the Service User’s explicit permission in writing will be sought before information is passed to any person other than those directly concerned with the care of the Service User.
• Records will be made available to the Service User’s principal Carer and family according to the wishes of the Service User.

Service Users’ dignity:

• Your dignity is a matter of prime importance to us, and all staff receive training in this area.
• You will be asked for the name by which you wish to be addressed, and this name will be recorded on your Service User Plan and used by all staff. You are perfectly entitled to ask that your principal carers use one name, and others use another name. The level of familiarity is under your control. In the absence of information to the contrary, staff will address you formally, using your title and surname.
• Staff are trained to be sensitive to your feelings when in company. For instance, should you need help with any daily activity, such as feeding, you will be offered privacy and sensitivity in order that you are not embarrassed.
• Bedrooms, bathrooms and WCs have locking mechanisms on the doors, and staff are trained to knock and wait for your invitation before entering the room.