Enter and View - Camden Lodge Care Home
Healthwatch Enfield has the authority to carry out Enter & View visits in health and social care premises to observe the nature and quality of services. This is set out in Section 225 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.
Whilst at the Home, we heard from 14 relatives, 7 residents, a community psychiatric nurse and 8 managers and staff. Through these discussions and our own observations, we found that much of the care provided at Camden Lodge is of a good standard. The management team seem committed to residents’ welfare and to providing a good level of care. The staff are appreciated by residents and their relatives for their kind, friendly attitude and hard work.
At Camden Lodge, concerns were raised by managers and relatives about the availability and support of NHS dental care. They are currently looking to engage a dentist to visit the Home, as they have not had a visit for over a year. They also stated they needed to clarify which residents are eligible for NHS treatment and those who are not. We would ask NHS England to ensure dental services prioritise proactive support to these residents. Having heard from many relatives, 4 of the 14 we heard from had commented that their loved one had had a fall at the Home. Whilst falls can happen, we considered it important to clarify the situation with the CHAT team (CHAT is a nurse led community service which provides rapid response visits or telephone advice at times of crisis).
The Community Matron for the CHAT team confirmed that currently the number of falls is not excessive for the size of home and that they monitor this on a monthly basis. The management also confirmed that all the staff have attended “Falls Prevention” training. In listening to relatives in particular, a number were very concerned that their loved ones could either be wearing other peoples’ clothes or that some of their clothes would go missing while being laundered. The relatives found this quite distressing and had commented that it had been going on for some time, despite the management team being made aware. Finally, in looking at the Care Plans and DOLs (Deprivation of Liberty) paperwork, some were unsigned by residents/relatives or in some cases, by the professionals who had contributed to them/DOLS documentation. The manager confirmed that they had been chasing the relevant professionals, but to no avail, and stated that it was often difficult to get relatives in to sign care plans, if the residents lacked capacity to do so. However, both of the above are fundamental and must be followed up in all cases.
As a result of this visit, 7 recommendations were made.
