Our report following a visit to Highfield House, a Grade 2 listed house converted to a care home and situated on the High Street, in the centre of Castle Cary.
Key findings
The Healthwatch team all reported great first impressions of the home
There is a real sense that this is the residents’ home, and staff appear to be like family within that home. The manager and deputy appear very caring and committed to ensuring each resident is happy and healthy
The environment felt homely and welcoming, calm and organised
Interactions between residents and staff were very personalised; staff know residents well. This was the same for staff interactions with relatives
It was apparent the home sought to get the right staff to fit the ethos and culture of the home
Recommendations
We would like the home to consider the following recommendations based on our observations and findings from the visit.
We liked that the home had strong links within the local community, including the local coffee shop, primary school and church (who deliver Holy Communion) and would recommend this continues
We suggested the home consider a photo board of staff who were on duty that day
We like that a resident has been asked to be the Resident Ambassador
We really liked the ‘wish board/what matters to me most’ as this reflects the personalised nature of care in the home. Healthwatch would like to use this as an example of good practice to share with other providers
Read our report