Enter and View: Atholl House Nursing Home

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

Key findings

Physical environment: Some rooms need repainting and outside areas tidying up. For example, the front garden and car park area had a lot of litter and discarded cigarette butts. The lift was broken, making it difficult for some residents to move between floors and staff to carry food up and down. There was an unsafe floor mat on the ground floor, with edges lifting up, making it a trip hazard. Loose wires were hanging down from the automatic clock, that could be pulled causing the clock to fall. Not all resident’s doors had name plaques. TVs and radios were left on when people weren’t in the room; we acknowledge residents may have recently left the area. A member of staff was mopping and didn’t put the ‘wet floor’ sign up until near the end.

Communication: There is poor communication between the hospital and the home, with a lack of understanding of who the home can accommodate. The hospital doesn’t always meet the placement needs and capability of the home.

Getting out and about: There is currently no way for residents to get out independently. A taxi has to be provided by the family, and a member of staff is needed to go with them. The home would like a minibus.

Laundry: We heard how clothes go missing and some relatives would like to wash clothes onsite. We understand this is an issue in a lot of homes. The Manager is aware of it and has tried many different options to solve the problem.

Activities: Some residents that have mental capacity to do activities but are not able to get out of bed, appear to lack activities suited to their needs.tivities, outings and games.