Elm Bank Care Home

My Mam is nicely settled in at Elm Bank having arrived nine months ago. She knows her way around her level and enjoys wandering freely from her room to the lounge. Mam enjoys all her food which looks very appetising in the dining room, and her 'seconds', and is adequately supervised, helped and coaxed to encourage a clean plate. All staff will offer her a cup of tea at whatever hour of day or night that suits her. The activities co-ordinator engages well with my Mam to gain her interest and participation. Mam is even allowed to just sit in the office, happy to be quiet when the carers are on the phone. The great thing is, the carers love their role - they understand the behaviour of their dementia residents, never take offence as they know it is just the condition, and continue to demonstrate patience, kindness and care passionately for their residents. Good humour abounds, and it is reassuring to see Mam laughing and joining in the fun. Thank you to all involved in Mam's care.

They face challenging circumstances, are not the most or least expensive, but provide love support and peace of mind.

My mother has been a resident at Elm Bank for 18 months. Before lockdown, I visited 2-3 times a week at various times throughout the day. The carers and staff are very friendly. She receives excellent care. The home is always clean and tidy and the food is plentiful, home-cooked and with multiple choices at all mealtimes. Snacks are provided between main meals. Each day there is a schedule of entertainment/social activities. A hairdresser visits twice a week. All the carers are very friendly and know all of the residents by their first names. The bedrooms and toilet facilities are well maintained and clean. The staff always keep us informed on any issues that may occur with my mother. Since lockdown, I have been able to maintain contact over the phone and the carers have been able to provide me with updates on her condition. I am so pleased that I chose Elm Bank to care for my mother.

Overall my mother was expecting more for the cost of the stay. She decided to leave earlier than planned mostly as she could not sleep well and because of the food.

Relative been here 2 weeks but have found staff to be very co-operative. All my concerns have been answered and acted upon immediately. Room nice and clean and staff seem very willing to help my relative to adjust to her new home.

Very friendly staff. Will help in any way with food and your wellbeing.

All members of staff are special, treating my grandmother with respect, dignity and care which I have not observed in other care homes. There was always laughter and my grandmother commented she felt part of a family there. It was always clean, tidy and staff always visible. Residents are treated as individuals and there is a culture that the staff feel privileged to work with the residents in their own home. The care my grandmother received was gratefully appreciated by the whole family.

The management is excellent and I am kept informed at all times about my mother's care.

Thank you.

The manager, carers, cleaners, housekeeping staff have all treated my mum with care, compassion and patience. They have even helped her to regain her sense of humour and I can't thank them enough!

My mother has only recently moved in, but everyone has worked hard to make sure she is settled. All the staff are great and they tell us how she has been on every visit. She likes it which is the main thing of importance.

Certain staff outshine others.

Mam enjoys the friendly staff and residents activities, the food and in general terms feels "at home".

My mother regularly tells me how happy and well looked after she is in Elm Bank.

The care home Elm Bank, Hexham has proved to be an excellent place for my father. He has received sympathetic care consistently throughout the 3/4 years he has been a resident. We could not have wished for a better place.

Mum (Alzheimer’s) has been in Elm Bank for a year. Mum has mostly been happy & free from pain & anxiety in the past year – this is our priority.

It’s a fine line between talking with residents at the right level for each individual & coming across as condescending. Although all the residents on Mum’s floor have Dementia, they are still individuals with different needs of communication & support. Caring is very staff intensive. More staff would be good, but fees would need to increase to support this.

Two staff members, in particular, deserve singling out for their aptitude & hard work in communicating with the residents as individuals, adjusting their techniques to suit each of the residents.

We are made welcome by the staff on our frequent visits, with tea & biscuits. We (5 of us) even had Christmas Day lunch with Mum in her room – all organised by the staff.

We have nothing but admiration for Mum’s carers at Elm Bank. Many thanks for all your hard work - very much appreciated.

Elm Bank Care Home is an attractive building in a lovely situation overlooking the river Tyne and Valley. It has a lovely residents lounge and good sized well-appointed rooms to which residents are able to bring pictures and belongings. Arranged on three floors means the residents are spread out and not overwhelmed by numbers of other people. The staff always offer a warm welcome and are cheerful, caring, kind, competent, pleasant and ever helpful. It is kept extremely clean, neat and tidy. As a non-resident, I have rated Elm Bank good though it probably is excellent but I can't ascertain certain aspects unless I was a resident, which I would happily be. Many thanks to the lovely staff.

All staff are friendly, helpful and patient. Meals are freshly made on site. Rooms are clean and well maintained.

The food; I have been at tea times and all it seems to be is soup and a sandwich, once I saw cheap chicken nuggets and burgers what sort of good nutrition is that? Every time I visit there is one particular woman shouting, pleading for help, it seems to take a long time for a carer to wander through. However, I do appreciate the “care” my grandma does get. There is one member of staff that is the most caring there.

My mother has now passed away, but her time at this care home was happy, settled and well managed. She had a good relationship with staff and other residents. She always commented on how much she enjoyed the food. She regularly told visitors how much she liked it there. She regularly joined in with activities and quickly became part of the home. It was always a pleasure to visit her in the home.