Review from Dean R (Respite Resident) published on 14 June 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

Excellent service that I received.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from Anna G (Daughter of Resident) published on 7 June 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience

A difficult decision to place mum into a care home due to her sudden medical needs, made harder at every turn by a combative manager. Lack of compassion and unwillingness to accept any issues in care compounded our distress. Every interaction loaded with suggestion take mum elsewhere. Mum was there,

close to my home, so I could have her every day until too ill. Only on making a written complaint to the owner were we heard. Staff were overworked and stretched. Trying their best but the one-to-one interactions certainly suffered. Mum was taken to an end-of-life care room in a wheelchair without a cushion wrapped in a sheet. She weighed 6 stone. A disgrace. The room was tatty, and clothes were left in bin bags on the floor. Pressure mats that didn’t work properly and a bedside buzzer, mums only form of calling for help not always working. Light out for weeks. Mum aware. Collected mum’s belongings the day after her death. Brought out in bin bags. Clean and soiled clothes together.

Reply from Jagjit Singh, Director at Vicarage Court Care Home

Thank you for your review. We are sorry to hear that you were not fully happy with the care. You were with us for 7 months during which time, we spent many hours talking with yourself as you struggled with the palliative care process that your mother was going through. Your mother had mental health needs as well as physical health needs. The manager pointed this out to you on occasion as we do not cater for mental health. We are a general nursing home. However you insisted that you did not wish her to be anywhere else every time the manager brought this up. The emotional rollercoaster that you were going through yourself made communication difficult.
You state it a disgrace that your mother weighed 6 stone. Can we please remind you that your mother's weight was 6.8 stone on admission. For the 7 months, we cared for her, much of it was on palliative care. You admitted to myself that you appreciated the staff and the care during that period. We are the highest-staffed care home in the area, but in an ideal world, we would love to have more staff. We recognise they work hard.
The room you were originally in the Forget Me Not was a relatively new room. The room on the middle was due to be refurbished, however, due to the needs of your mother, she needed immediate nursing care, and that was the only room we had. New buzzers and a new pressure mat were ordered and then fitted. We agree that it was not as nice as the refurbished rooms and it has now been upgraded.
Please accept our condolences again as it's 6 months since your mother passed away. We wish you well and we aim to always improve from feedback.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from L B (Respite Resident) published on 9 May 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

I have been extremely satisfied and happy during my stay. All the staff have been very kind and helpful and I am sorry to be leaving here.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from M D (Respite Resident) published on 18 April 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

I came in here for rehabilitation for four weeks. I found the manager brilliant (nothing was too much trouble). I found some staff very good, however, some staff not so much. The home was very clean and tidy and always on one day the home had an entertainer, "singer", and although I didn't go into the

lounge, I heard him and it was nice to have entertainers on.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from Valory S (Resident) published on 17 April 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

I arrived at the care home in April 2019. I was under palliative care. I am under control of my illness. I can not ask for anything more of this care home as they have looked after me very well.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from Jean A (Sister of Resident) published on 17 April 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

The care given to my sister from all the staff is excellent.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from Geoffrey S (Son of Resident) published on 28 March 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience

Very happy with the care, the staff are very kind and went out of their way for my father. The rooms are modern and there were many lounges which helped my large family have private get-togethers on several occasions. The gardens are very nice.
My father really enjoys being here and this has given

the family peace of mind that he is happy and healthy and not alone.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from Amanda S (Daughter of Resident) published on 2 March 2023
Submitted via Website • Report

Overall Experience

My dad was sent here on a respite-type transfer from the hospital. His room was dreadful, it was like a prison cell with no opening window. We were told by one staff member the window was broken, and by another the key was lost. He was locked in that room where even his family had to try and find a

staff member to let us in to see him (which created another problem as staff don't like to be bothered) it was akin to an asylum. We were forever pleading to get dad some water, we were happy to fill his jug but weren't allowed so had to wait until they had time. His health massively went downhill whilst he was here, and can't get an answer as to why from the staff or doctor. I or my sister never saw a doctor whilst he was in here, even after constantly requesting this. The staff really need to learn how to treat its residents. We witnessed them shouting and be really nasty to my dad, we were frightened to go home and leave him at times. I wouldn't recommend this home, especially if you have dementia.

Reply from Jag Singh, Director at Vicarage Court Care Home

Thank you for your review and we are saddened that your experience was not positive. We received no complaint from yourself during the 4 weeks that your relative was in the home and we were surprised by your review. As a result, we requested to meet yourself face to face to go through each allegation. We were disappointed that you declined to meet. Further we were confused that if you have these feelings, why you did not have a discussion with us during the 4 weeks and only communicated via this review weeks later.
We feel your review contains many inaccuracies which we must address: -
1)   You state that your relative never saw a doctor. In fact, your relative saw a doctor 6 times during 4 weeks stay. During a time of NHS and GP services in crisis, the fact we managed to get 6 GP visits in 4 weeks in substantial.
2)   You state he was locked in a room. All of our rooms have special handles, so a resident can never be locked in. Further on a unit where other residents are living with dementia, you would not want to be continuously disturbed by wandering residents, hence rooms cannot be opened without a key from outside, effectively very similar to everyones front door. A simple conversation about this with us would have led to you being given a key or other options to resolve the issue.
3)   We request that using volatile language like “prison cell” and “asylum” is not helpful. The residents we care for are human beings. We have 80 rooms in the care home, of which 65 of them are identical to the one you had. We feel your description of the room is inaccurate. All the other residents and families are very happy with the rooms. The windows open in two different ways. None of them are locked but are restricted as per care home regulations. A simple conversation with us and we could have showed how to open them.
4)   Water is freely available in the home. We have hydration stations, hydration trolleys and many rooms have jugs. Tea, coffee and biscuits are also freely available.
5)   We asked you to come in to meet us so we can go through your experience with the staff. We have pictures of the staff in reception and any staff you have had a negative experience with can be addressed. We were disappointed that you chose not to do this, but also make a derogatory comment like, ‘they all look the same’
We like to build long term relationships with residents and families and we feel we have done that over 30 years of this care home's history. Unfortunately, due to the current crisis in the NHS hospitals, we have been requested to help out the local hospitals with this temporary contract where residents come in for 4 weeks until they are ok to go home. This NHS crisis is far from ideal and it creates frustration in many families with the broken system. We too have huge frustrations with the system. As a result of this, we have not been able to foster the relationships with families under this contract that we usually do. We are now bringing in steps to ensure better communication.
We are still open to meeting yourself and discuss your review and discuss ways in which improvements can be made.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from Bev D (Daughter of Resident) published on 22 February 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

The staff are very welcoming and friendly. My mum has advanced Alzheimer's disease and can be very difficult at times and can be aggressive, however, the staff are very caring and professional in looking after her.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from Jean B (Daughter of Resident) published on 14 February 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

Vicarage Court Care Home is a wonderful place. The staff are really good with the residents, there are lots of activities which the residents can join in with, there is lots of communication with relatives. My mother is very happy with her care.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from A B (Private Carer of Resident) published on 7 February 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

My client seems to be well looked after. The staff are aware of any issues and make me aware of them. They are courteous and chatty.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from P S (Son of Resident) published on 6 February 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

Staff are great, always popping in to make sure my dad is ok. Makes sure he is eating well and encouraging him if he's not. Room is clean and tidy. Takes care of all medication and medical needs so I don't need to worry about it. Plenty of activities if he wants to take part or just chill in his room

if not. Good sized garden and paved area with seating for the warmer days.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from K R (Son of Resident) published on 31 January 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

Dedication! All the staff are so positive, the care is 100%. Thank you so much for your support regarding Dad.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from Hilary C (Sister of Resident) published on 31 January 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

The care home provides home-from-home comfort. The care they give residents is excellent, they are all treated with respect. My sister loved it here. They have extremely caring nurses and carers. Home-cooked food and activities most days.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from D P (Daughter of Resident) published on 30 January 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

My mum has been in this care home for just over a year. Some rooms are small but the room my mum has was a great size, cleaned every day and clean towels daily. Staff are friendly, polite and caring. Daily activities which are well organised. Food choices looked good, variety to pick from each day.

While Covid has been in the care home, staff and management have done fantastic to keep it open as much as possible.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from M P (Son-in-law of Resident) published on 30 January 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

Great, friendly staff who care about the residents. Great outdoor garden space for residents and family, came in useful when Covid was on. Grow all own vegetables for the chef to use in the kitchen. Nice to see residents go out on trips - shopping. Nicely, compact care home, staff get to know who you

are - makes you feel at home.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from Yvonne R (Daughter of Resident) published on 26 January 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

My mother is so happy and well taken care of, she has always been clean and well-fed.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from Amanda P (Daughter of Resident) published on 19 January 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

Our 92-year-old father is a current resident. The home is clean, caring and very well run. All the staff are super helpful, caring and take time to know all residents personally. Our dad has had the best care here. We are very grateful we found it! Thank you.
Special thanks to a lovely member of staff

who is a star!

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from Suzanne C (Daughter of Resident) published on 17 January 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

As a family, we couldn't be any happier with everything and everybody involved in the care of our dad. The staff are kind, happy and caring. I really would like to mention one member of staff who my dad has particularly made a special bond with. It has made a difficult time in Dad's life a lot easier

as she always makes time for him with her lovely, caring and humorous way. I would recommend Vicarage Court Care Home.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Review from Neil W (Son of Resident) published on 11 January 2023
Submitted via Postal Card • Report

Overall Experience

We the family, feel Mum was very well looked after, throughout the two years and eight months at Vicarage Court Care Home. The only thing, from time to time there was a breakdown in communication. On the whole, our Mum had a good level of care and we as a family would recommend Vicarage Court to anyone

in a similar situation as us, with a family member.

Facilities

Care / Support

Cleanliness

Treated with Dignity

Food & Drink

Staff

Activities

Management

Safety / Security

Rooms

Value for Money

Vicarage Court Care Home

Care Provided by Vicarage Court Care Home

Good to Know

Funding & Fees Guide for Vicarage Court Care Home

Facilities