Healthwatch Doncaster’s Enter and View team conducted an initial visit in April 2019, with a follow-up visit in August 2019
Summary of recommendations from April 2019 visit
- All alarm pulls in residents’ toilets should be free hanging and extended to just above floor length.
- Replace residents’ white toilet seats and riser seats with coloured ones that contrast with the white frames and toilets. These would be dementia friendly.
- Replace white grab rails and bars in toilets and bathrooms with coloured ones to make them more visible and dementia friendly.
- To increase visibility, corridor handrails should be painted in clearly contrasting colours.
- Check that clocks are working and accessible to all.
- To ease access for residents with dementia, main activities timetables should show activities for the current day only.
- Written activity timetables, recently introduced by head office, are not dementia friendly.
- Have separate notice boards for different types of information e.g. policies and procedures separate from information for relatives.
- Ensure that names on all residents’ door signs are on a white background and clear to read.
Summary of recommendations from August 2019 visit
- Toilet signage has been updated with dementia friendly signs.
- Toilet seats and raisers have been replaced and are now contrasting colours.
- Alarm cords were not tied up and had been fitted with rigid plastic coating as a safety measure. Some of the cords did not fall to the ideal length.
