Enter and View: Long Meadows, Ripon

Findings: 

• Long Meadows is a nursing and care home housed in what was originally a large detached family residence set in extensive grounds on the outskirts of the Cathedral city of Ripon.
• The extensive grounds consist of trees, shrubs, herbaceous borders and lawns, which require minimum maintenance. It is apparent on entering the grounds that they are sadly neglected, overgrown and in need of some remedial work to improve the overall appearance of the Home on entering the property.
• On entering the Home there is a pervasive malodour that only varied in intensity in different parts of the home, but persisted throughout our visit. The configuration of rooms within the Home make it appear like an unfathomable rabbit warren. All rooms viewed, whether bedrooms, dining room or seating areas appeared drab, unwelcoming and particularly dark in corridors and had an overall air of an institution rather than the feel of being a warm, welcoming “home” to its residents.
• The Home specialises in 24-hour nursing care, but does have residents with multiple health difficulties, including residents with dementia and some that have suffered a CVA (stroke). Only 13 -15 of the current 38 residents had sufficient cognition to respond to our questions, according to the Manager. Only 14 residents attended for lunch indicating that 24 residents were in their bedrooms whether by choice or necessity.
• All bedrooms are equipped with an emergency call system which can only be cancelled by staff attending the room. This system is however inappropriate for residents with more advanced stages of dementia, and we evidenced that the call system had been disconnected from the wall socket in two bedrooms that we visited.
• Safety gates at the top and bottom of both staircases were either open or ineffective in the purpose of being a safety precaution for residents.
• Staffing levels include 2 nurses working the 7.00am until 2.30pm shift, with only one nurse working the afternoon shift and one nurse during the night shift. There are 5 care assistants working the morning and afternoon shifts but only 2 working the 8.00pm until 7.00am shift.
• There is no specific facility for family members to stay overnight, however where a resident is near the end of their life, recliner chairs are available for relatives to use.
• The Management, residents, staff and visitors all appear to be on easy, friendly, supportive terms with each other.