Charlton Down care home boss praises support received (From Thisisdorset)

Charlton Down care home boss praises support received

4:00pm Friday 10th February 2012 in Latest By Harry Hogger

THE boss of a care home criticised by an inspector’s report said she has been ‘overwhelmed’ by the support the home had from residents and their relatives.

Families of those cared for at Chestnut House in Charlton Down say they were shocked by a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report that urged the home to make improvements to its standards of care.

They say the findings are in stark contrast to the positive experiences they have of the home and they have nothing but praise for the staff that work there.

Care home manager Michele Smith told a meeting of friends and relatives of Chestnut House that the failings identified by the CQC related to care plans that she believed had now been fully addressed.

She said: “I fully believe that we are fully compliant now.”

Mrs Smith said that to some extent they created the problems for themselves with their highly individualised care plans for each patient and said staff needed to find a balance between caring for the residents of the 85-bed nursing home – many of whom suffer from dementia – and completing all the required paper work.

She said: “I feel that the standard of care here is excellent. Nurses do tend to spend more time on care than they do on paperwork and we have got to find the right balance – we are working on that.”

Mrs Smith also praised the relatives and residents for their ‘outstanding’ response since the report and the support they had shown for the staff.

She said: “Thank you for the phenomenal support during the last week, it has been absolutely outstanding. Myself and the staff have just been overwhelmed by your response to this.

“Some of them have literally been reduced to tears.

“We did realise that you liked the home, I didn’t realise that you felt so strongly about it and it’s just so uplifting to read your comments.”

Residents’ families pleased

THE Echo has also received a number of letters praising the care of Chestnut House in response to the CQC report.

They include one from Stephanie Shepherd, whose father is a resident at the home.

She told the Dorset Echo: “I have nothing but praise and admiration for the way he has been looked after by everyone in the home.”