New Forest Nursing Home

My mother was a resident at New Forest Nursing Home for almost seven years until she passed away in July 2022. She arrived, after a spell in hospital, in poor spirits and worsening health with the onset of mild dementia. The welcoming friendly nature of the staff and regular healthy meals quite quickly gave my mother a new lease on life. As her dementia became more serious she was amongst nursing and care staff who knew her, cared for her and ensured she was happy. As well as nursing, care and activities staff, the kitchen team, maintenance crew and managers, even at the most senior levels, took a genuine interest in my mother and enriched her daily life. Activities were understandably reduced during the Covid Pandemic but, even during the most difficult months, my mother was content. I felt New Forest Nursing Home handled the lockdown and isolation challenges with reassuring confidence and sensitivity. The disciplined and cheerful approach to infection control by all members of staff was really impressive.

My mother has been in New Forest Nursing home for nearly 3 years. During Covid, the home relied more and more on agency staff which in my mother's case was not always satisfactory as she is bedbound and now has to have pure food. Occasionally the staff were not as supportive and understanding as they could be. During the Covid lockdown, I think the home managed very well under the circumstances. I now visit my mother twice a week - her pure meals are now good and appropriate for her needs. The staff are always very friendly and welcoming. Her room is clean - but the walls have spillage stains that need to be cleaned up. She has a very small room - but prefers this room as it is one of the few rooms that have mobile reception. It is such a shame that the nursing home does not have wifi and mobile reception for the residents. My mother is not able to engage in the activities as she is reluctant to leave her room.

Parents are looked after very well by all the staff who are very patient and caring. Happy team, all very friendly. The medical team are excellent, arranging the correct medication and any problems my parents have. Very well fed, meal times and snacks. Their room arrangement is brilliant.

As I was not able to visit my father because of Covid and was very surprised at his poor physical state to the point I did not recognise him when I saw him again in June as he lost over 20 kilos since I last saw him. However, after talking to the staff, I realised most of the weight loss happened before he was admitted to the care home. After a couple of days of visiting, I realised that there we some basic items missing for the betterment of care - for example, an extra long bed and a long chair for his height.

Although I think that this was more a result of the limited supply of the NHS and difficulty of getting items due to the supply chain issue of covid, I feel that the staff and especially the manager went out of her way to rectify these and other smaller issues. She always showed empathy and understanding towards my father. I really do feel she made a heartfelt effort to do the best for my father to have as much dignity and comfort while he remained with us.

Today celebrated my great-grandmother's birthday. She turned 103. The staff all made such a fuss of her, to the extent that the manager came into the home on her day off. Great staff and a wonderful cake baked by the catering team. Very grateful that the staff care so much.

My Mother is so very well looked after by a wonderful team of nurses and carers with whom she has good relationships. I find the management team to be exemplary. I would also like to thank the Catering and Housekeeping teams. The home has a warm and caring atmosphere, but most importantly my Mother is happy. To witness the joy on her face at an invitation to go out on a trip on the mini-bus is so heart-warming so a big thank you to the Driver and Activities Co-ordinator.

My father is very well looked after here, and, more importantly, he is happy and comfortable. He has a good rapport with all staff. All the staff are very caring and show patience and compassion to all patients. All staff from, management to cleaners, are very cheerful and go a long way to give the home it's warm atmosphere. A lot of thought is given to outings and activities. I am very happy to know that my father is safe and cared for.

The love and care that has been given to my wife has made us feel like we are part of a truly great family. New Forest Nursing Home; great home, great care by great people.

I have found the staff at New Forest Nursing Home to be very nice, friendly and well-motivated. This tells me a lot about the quality of the staff, the manager and her management team. My mother is receiving the best care we could ever hope to get for her from the very dedicated staff.

Because of covid restrictions, I have not been able to observe in person some of the facilities as my wife has only been here since November 2020. I have always found the staff friendly and helpful.