Enter and View: Penn House Care Home

The visit was part of Healthwatch Wolverhampton’s quality monitoring. Penn House was made aware that there would be a visit by Healthwatch, but no specific date was given.

Key findings

• The home is not brightly lit and is currently being refurbished with décor
  undergoing changes to the colour scheme. The newer part of the building
  has freshly painted walls while the older part is still to be redecorated. We
  found that signage throughout the home does not sufficiently support
  residents with a dementia diagnosis to identify their own rooms, for
  example, by using names or photographs. We also found that sanitary ware
  does not have contrasting toilet seats to assist residents.
• The activity coordinator is on long term sick leave and so staff have to fit
  in engagement with residents as they carry out their duties during the day.
  This does mean some residents lack sufficient stimulation to meet their
  needs and encouragement for them to be involved in day-to-day activities.
  Staff were observed engaging kindly and appropriately with residents
  while doing during record keeping activities and while assisting residents
  with meals. The majority of residents lack capacity due to a diagnosis of
  dementia.
• The activities board was outdated with the last activity announcement
  being from November 2022.
• The menu was detailed on a weekly basis with a good range that catered to
  a variety of dietary requirements.
• The garden was not in use due to building work and there are plans in place
  to restore access for residents to a green space and a patio area. We were
  assured that these plans will be developed as soon as possible.
• Staff presented as comfortable in their roles, however they expressed
  that the shifts were quite long, and that the lack of an activity coordinator
  causes additional work for the other staff.
• There were a few health and safety issues identified. These included a black
  wire hanging low from a ceiling in a corridor and a sluice bathroom which
  did not have a lock on. We also found the staff toilet unlocked and the bin
  inside was a hand operated bin.