Enter & View - Care Homes
Visits can either be announced or unannounced. The majority of visits will be announced by contacting the provider up to a week beforehand. This allows the provider the opportunity to ask questions.
The purpose is to collect evidence through:
- Observing the nature and quality of the service
- Listening to the views of residents/services users and their families
- Listening to the views of staff
Service users are more open when they’re less apprehensive that complaints could negatively impact their care. This is especially important for residents of care homes whose only contacts may be fellow residents and staff as it is not uncommon that they have no visiting family.
The findings will be collated and written into a draft report with recommendations to the Care Manager who will respond within a certain timescale.
The final report will be put on the Healthwatch website in the public domain. Copies will be sent to the Local Authority.
Where there are concerns, Healthwatch will report these to the appropriate organisations, for example, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the local Overview & Scrutiny Committee and/or Healthwatch England.
What an Enter & View is not.
An inspection.
An inspection is done by the CQC.
Healthwatch offers a layperson’s perspective, and is regarded as a ‘critical friend’ rather than a formal in-depth inspection.
A standalone activity – it is just one tool available to Healthwatch for collecting evidence for a defined purpose. It is just part of a wider engagement strategy.
Our Current Enter and View Volunteers Are:
Ann Bridge
Kath Inkpen
Rita Chapman
Judi Lunt
If you would be iinterested in joining our Enter and View team, please contact us.
