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Report of Quality Assurance Survey Results 2014

We conduct a survey each year to ask you, your relatives and others who visit the home, such as doctors, nurses, psychiatric services, social workers, and a chiropodist and hairdresser, what you and they think about the home and the service we provide. The aim of asking your views is to help us to know where we can improve and what we could change to make things better for everyone who lives at The Forbury.

As usual we had a good response to our survey and would like to tell you about the outcome and share some of the views expressed by those who took part.

We asked for your views on our services in several areas which include:

Information and Communication

Meeting Individual Needs

Choice

Providing social activities and support to participate in them

Access to the local community

Access to health and other services

Complaints

Skills, knowledge and manner of the staff

Environment

The overwhelming response in all areas indicated that we ‘always’ or ‘usually’ provided the service that you expected and wanted. 100% of those who responded were happy that they knew how to, and could make a complaint if they wished.

Within this, some people felt that they did not always have enough information to make decisions about their daily life, or enough support to participate in activities of their choosing. Some also felt that staff did not always listen to them and understand their needs and wishes.

We would very much want everyone to feel listened to and supported. We continue to have regular monthly residents meetings, which relatives and friends are freely invited to attend, and where each month people are asked for their ideas and suggestions about what social activities they would like to be arranged, and views and opinions regarding any other aspect of life in the home, are sought. We hope people will continue to freely attend these lively meetings and have their say!

Because we know how important it is that people feel listened to and valued, our staff were fortunate to participate in two workshops given by Andy Bradley, founder of an organisation called Frameworks4change. This organisation is well known for campaigning for compassionate care and in providing training to give carers the ability to truly listen to, and value each person as very much an individual. All who attended, which was almost all of the staff team, and some relatives and other professionals who attended an evening session, found the workshops inspirational. We believe that our listening skills, and our communication skills have been further enhanced as a result, and that we will be better able to ensure that you have proper choices, and that we are able to support you to make those choices and decisions about your daily life.

Some people made suggestions about what they would like to see different or that we could do better. These include there being an unpleasant odour for a time in an area of the home, and one person felt that they were not kept up to date with decisions made regarding their relative. Someone felt as well that tea time can seem a bit chaotic.

The odour was a problem for a short time but has now been resolved. We will continue to allow as much fresh air into the home as possible, weather allowing.

An apology, verbal and written has been made to the family not kept up to date about their relative, and will continue to try and keep all the families fully informed about their relative, where appropriate.

Lunch and tea times have since been changed which has engendered a more relaxed atmosphere at these times.

There were many comments that showed most people felt positive about the home and the care they receive. Relatives and other people also felt very positive about the home. These are just a few of the comments made by residents and their relatives:

‘Thank you for being so kind and looking after my Mum’

‘The staff are without doubt the strength of The Forbury. They always appear friendly and caring to all residents.’

‘All the staff do their utmost to look after everyone so wonderfully…’

‘Always plenty to do and staff very welcoming…’

‘Each resident is treated as an individual and all members of the care team know the care that is required.’

‘Staff provide excellent genuine care and consideration. Good communication. Excellent food. Very good activities, outings and entertainment…’

‘Staff are caring and I am very happy’

‘I’m looked after and very happy’

‘(I) feel safe and loved and well cared for’

‘Look after me well and keep my dignity…’

Comments made by other professionals include:

‘Display kind caring and respectful care’

‘Warm compassionate care’

‘The team have discussed and do not feel we can suggest improvements’

‘The Forbury has always been a pleasure to visit. The service is always perfect and any information we need is always surrendered with no delay.’

‘I would happily place a family member here’

‘I have 100% confidence in their services…’

‘Best residential home in my opinion…extremely competent and caring staff’

We would like to thank everyone who took part in the survey and shared their thoughts and opinions, and made suggestions. It has been very gratifying to read these comments and to know that you are happy with and supportive of the service we provide. We will keep trying to further improve and hope that all the people who live here and their friends and families will continue to participate in the life of The Forbury and share their ideas with us.

 

‘Everyone Matters’ Project 2015

The Forbury Residential Home, Church Street, Leominster

Update and introduction for new readers by Jeanette McCulloch

I am an artist who works in the community working with people who have chronic illness, offering therapeutic art sessions.  I believe that art can improve the health or sense of wellbeing of people who experience mental and physical health problems.

By providing an opportunity to experience arts, (or cooking or gardening etc.) you give people an opportunity of self-expression, invite curiosity and teach new skills or re-skill people. It’s mostly a social activity so you are encouraging social skills, this means that people can be passively engaged ie watching, listening, chatting, laughing, touching, looking etc., or actively engaged. Everyone can be involved, all residents, staff friends and relatives.

Activities such as art raise self-esteem and self-confidence and you feel happier and more relaxed and feel positive because of what you have achieved.

All the residents and staff at The Forbury work together, we are a team. June Bakewell who is the manager and Chris Lutton the owner are very involved with this project. And a special mention should go to Emma Curd she does an amazing job of providing a huge range of activities for all the residents to enjoy, and Tom Rees who recently joined us. Marius who is the maintenance man, has made several large wooden sculptures such as a train and a bi- plane and wooden letters for a sign we are making for the residents to paint.

We built a very successful online blog which is called The Forbury Times wordpress.com to record what we do. John Rose who built and manages the blog for us does an excellent job of keeping up to date and it looks great. The blog includes conversations (or reminiscence), lots of photographs of all the activities we do, example of the paintings and other art we make, its updated regularly and gives a view into a very happy home. It give relatives and friends a chance to keep in contact and make contact via the blog.

Everyone Matters also seeks to connect people in the community in and around Leominster. We write a community newspaper called The Forbury Times Community Newspaper, which is distributed to four other care homes in Leominster and we also place copies of the newspaper in the library, TIC and Leominster Community Centre and other places in the town. Other people can also add articles to this paper if they send them to us.

We organised a Christmas party in which older residents from three residential homes (60 people) came to the Leominster Community Centre, this was great fun and some residents and staff recognised people they hadn’t seen in a while.

There is a strong link with Leominster Primary School and The Forbury, which we are keen to encourage. Young children meeting and spending time with and befriending older people is a source of mutual happiness. We have been collaborating together on a project about fashion and clothing which has resulted in amazing conversations and sharing of practical skills and drawing and designing clothing. Katrin Cross from The Arts and Older People department at The Courtyard let us borrow their Fashion Kit.

The Courtyard have organised Drama practitioners to come and work with our residents. We also have Gez Hughes, who is a photographer, and Marsha O’Mahoney who is an oral historian working with the residents. We have plans to invite other practitioners in, have another community party, make a Forbury calendar and make lots more art.

The ideas we work on are in conjunction with residents and staff, sometimes discussed at residents meetings or born from conversations with people at The Forbury. The entire project is a collaborative one.

 

‘Everyone Matters’ July 2014

 The Forbury Care Home in Leominster are in celebratory mood after being awarded an Arts Council England grant to run a year long community arts project called ‘Everyone Matters’. Working with artist Jeanette McCulloch and the staff team at The Forburythe residents will enjoy being involved in and working on ambitious and creative ideas including a collaboration with pupils from Leominster Primary School on artworks for their new school. “The pupils are already familiar with visiting residents at The Forbury, but now we intend to have a ‘Buddy’ system so that pairs of children and residents work together, building towards large scale murals, textiles and decorative panels for the school” explains Jeanette. The project aims to link the residents from the Forbury with the wider community in Leominster through a regular Blog, this will also give family and friends of not just the residents but all the staff the opportunity to keep in touch. There will also be a limited edition ‘Forbury Community Newspaper’, which will be distributed through Leominster.

To start the project, The Forbury will host a talk by Andy Bradley from Framework4change at 6.30-8.30pm at Leominster Community Centre on Monday 28^th July. Andy will offer an evening of connection, inspiration and compassion on the theme of ‘The Art of Caring’ – and will be of interest to people who are caring for someone at home, or have a relative or friend in care or who have an interest in self compassion and mindfulness. Places are limited so book a place please phone either Jeanette McCulloch on 01531 636805 or June Bakewell, Forbury Manager on 01568 613877.

 

The Forbury provides a service to older people who have care needs arising simply due to their age or because they have particular needs due to physical disabilities, a dementia illness or other mental health difficulties.  The building is a large Grade 1 listed Georgian house in the market town of Leominster. It is situated in a quiet street within walking distance of the town centre and Leominster Priory and park.  An extensive refurbishment project has been underway for 3 years resulting in more single rooms, ensuite facilities and communal space. The kitchen has been upgraded and a salon quality hairdressing room has been added.