Thank you for all your responses to the 2020 Family Survey, in total we received 27 responses and below we have highlighted some of the key themes that have arisen from your feedback.

Themes coming from your responses to the survey Action we will take as a result
Long-term plans regarding visiting arrangements

 

We are keen to open up face to face indoor visiting as soon as we have measures in place to allow for this safely, and as soon as the lock down has lifted.

 

As I’m sure you can understand, we need to make sure we jointly follow every safety precaution to ensure the safety of your loved ones and our staff.

 

Indoor visiting in a visitor area is now available in our services, however if (through our regular testing) we get positive COVID results we are then forced to close due to restrictions from Sefton Infection Control Team.

 

We are committed to keeping you as up to date as possible on the status of visiting arrangements in each service – if you are unsure about whether your loved one’s home is open for visiting please contact the service manager direct.

 

Our approach to date has proven to be the right one in reducing the spread of infection and like you we are very keen to introduce more contact with your loved one as soon as we can. Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter.

 

Better more regular updates on what the service user needs, more proactive rather than re-active (when they have run out of an item)

 

We do expect our staff to contact you directly when a loved one is close to running out of any particular item, in the main this regular update / contact does happen.

 

We will bring this to the attention of all our service managers who will ensure that this is carried out in all services all of the time.

 

More updates on the activities and a greater range of activities on offer. More photographs and more personal updates

 

We will ensure that the range if activities provided are shared with you within our regular newsletter, including photographs of your loved ones enjoying the activities on offer. Please do advise via the photography and filming consent form (issued by Kat Whitemoss) if you do/do not give consent for the sharing of photographs and films of your loved ones.

 

Greater staffing levels

 

Our staffing levels are based on the number of people that are in each service plus an additional allowance of 15% to cover staff training, holidays and absences.

 

Unlike some care providers we ensure that our care staff spend time supporting people and we have additional staff that are employed as housekeeping and catering staff. The majority of our budget and the fees that you pay is spent on staff costs. We aim to get the balance right between good staffing levels and affordability.

 

To this end we have invested in technology and digital solutions to support our staff to spend more time with the people that they care for.

 

Difficulty getting through on the phone

 

We apologise for any inconvenience in getting through to us on the phones.

 

We do experience busier times during meal times, so please bear with us as we try to answer the phone as quickly as possible during these times.

 

Alternatively please email the manager at each service and they will reply to your question as soon as possible.

 

Food uninspiring at James Page

 

We will begin to share with you the varied and nutritious menus we provide in all our services.

 

The team regularly use special days such as birthdays and anniversaries as well as themed days such as pancake day, fish and chip supper days and Halloween as an excuse to cook special themed meals and make meal time extra special.

 

We were delighted to have been awarded the National Catering Team of the Year Award for our dedication to food and nutrition in all our services. Read More.

 

Clothes going missing and shrinking in wash at James Page

 

We apologise if any items have gone missing. It’s very difficult to keep track of un-marked items and our staff do everything that they can to ensure that individual items are returned to the person concerned.

 

Please ensure that all items are labelled were possible. If items have been damaged please contact the manager of the service concerned and we can refund the costs on production of receipt of purchase.

 

Closed window during window visits?

 

Window visits are a great way of keeping in touch with your loved ones and we are lucky that all of our services are on the ground floor.  All services have windows that can be opened slightly to enable you to talk to your loved one but please do not reach in to touch someone, however tempting this is, as this may spread  the virus,

 

We have experienced a service user trying to climb out of the window when their loved one arrived for the visit. We fully understand how distressing and unsettling this is so please book a window visit and we can ensure that your loved one is supported by our staff during the visit.

 

We hope the new indoor visiting arrangements make visiting times more enjoyable for everyone and allow for more personal connections, we know how valuable that personal contact with family is.

 

Wheelchair walks around the grounds?

 

Our services are located in beautiful gardens and if the weather is favourable we do take people into the grounds and gardens. We hope that this is something that you can also do with your loved one when testing is introduced for visitors.