Woodfalls Care Home

Review of Woodfalls Care Home, Salisbury, Wiltshire by Meghan Fowler (Sister of Resident)

Saturday 5 January 2013

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT, easily the best care home in the South West. Fantastic, esp with people with dementia. More like family than a care home, the manager is superb, all staff are, and stay for 10 years plus which tells you all you need to know. heartbreaking to need residential care, but if you do, you won't get better than this. Food, drink, care, entertainment, facilities all the best available. A real fight to get Wiltshire council to fund (it is available for funding cases), but worth doing. Total peace of mind for relatives of either privately or funded that their family are in the safest and most caring hands available.

Review of Woodfalls Care Home, Salisbury, Wiltshire by Colin Horne (Husband of Resident)

Friday 2 November 2012

I believe that sincere praise - where it is due - should be broadcast, for the guidance and help of prospective Clients. I have personal experience and knowledge of other Residential Care Homes in this area, so I feel I can make some comparisons from recent experience. Woodfalls Care Home is a friendly group of people, where Carers and Residents share their enjoyment of a relaxed environment, where the welfare and happiness of the Residents is paramount. It is smaller than some others, so you quickly get to know Residents and Carers by name. Visitors and Residents quickly get to know their way around, without too many baffling corridors. Medical needs are fully catered for, with prompt and effective support from the local Downton Surgery, as well as various independent services, such as a Chiropodist, Manicurist and Hairdresser. Residents' comfort, laundry and catering requirements are superb. I think money has been generously spent in providing safety features such as bath lift, stair lift, passenger lift, personal mobility aids, support frames and webbing aids for lifting, and a really effective system of easy-access alarms wherever you look. Frequent visits from entertainers take place, much to everyone's' enjoyment. Organised Outings are a Summer feature, and on-site Church Services from various local churches are held during the month. I am looking forward to seeing the fireworks display next week, through the windows of the safety and warmth of the lovely sun-lounge. Last summer there were barbeques and raffles. I think Woodfall's main strength is its flexibility - the events of the day are organized around the Resident's mood and nobody is forced to undergo anything. Instead, the Staff are fantastic at coaxing Residents into eating, bathing and all the things you could hope for. As a one-time full-time Carer, I remember how inadequate I felt at times. The interrupted sleep, the worries about trying to read possible symptoms of any new symptoms of medical disorders. And the constant fear of falls. Thanks to Woodfall's Care Home, I know my wife is in the best hands, and I now sleep easy at nights. I'm even putting on lost weight! When choosing Woodfalls Care Home, I noticed that some other care homes in the area try to cater for a very broad mix of ages and care requirements. I felt uneasy at subjecting my wife to the possibility of being in the presence of severely disturbed fellow-residents, with locks and bolts more suited to a high security establishment. I have absolutely no reservations in recommending this 'home from home' to anyone. You will see below that my lowest rating is 'good', that being for Cleanliness. OK, as long as peas will roll along the floor, and as long as the odd bit of loo-paper might escape the flush, I'd be dishonest to claim more. But you just watch the the team of cleaners hard at work, and you'll be pretty jealous! I love the informal way the Carers and Catering Staff muck in at mealtimes, sharing tasks like serving meals, doing the rounds with a joke and an extra dollop of custard. Please ask to see a sample of the paperwork! A full assessment is maintained for every Resident, updated in meticulous detail on a daily basis, by joint agreement. Anything I have ever reported regarding my wife's welfare is always acted upon.