Avalon Nursing Home recommended for National Care Home of the Year award

We're delighted to report that Avalon Nursing Home has been nominated as ‘Care Home of the Year’ by the assessor who inspected the team’s approach to end of life care.

Avalon received the nomination as a result of a 100% score from the inspector for the Gold Standards Framework (GSF), who judged the quality of the home's palliative care as exemplary according to a list of nationally-approved criteria.

This is the second consecutive occasion Avalon has received GSF accreditation, a highly regarded accolade for its focused relevance on the diverse aspects of end-of-life care. They are shortlisted alongside the team from Camelot House and Lodge, who were also nominated after their GSF assessment earlier this year.

Assessor Becky Williams said: “I am recommending this care home for (GSF’s) Care Home of the Year award due to the strong leadership and passion of the proprietors of the home to help improve the lives of the residents in the home.”

Describing Avalon as “friendly and welcoming,” Ms Williams said her visit “…demonstrated that GSF remains embedded in the home and has grown and developed over the last three years since their last re-accreditation, particularly in development with the local community and participating in pilot projects.”

Paul Teasdale, director of Camelot Care, said: “We are so proud of our colleagues at Avalon for this wonderful achievement. “Successive reaccreditations by GSF are proof of Avalon’s long-term commitment to providing the highest quality palliative care, and this is really reassuring for both residents and their families.

“Not only are we ensuring all residents are supported to live their best lives despite their dementia, they are also receiving outstanding support at the end of their lives.

“I congratulate our home manager Tamsin Forde and her team for consistently delivering the very best care to our residents, and working sensitively with loved ones too.”

One aspect of the support for families highlighted by the assessor is the dedicated ensuite room provided in a quiet area of the home, with patio doors into the garden, where relatives can stay, sleep, rest or have some quiet time out as required, in recognition of the needs of those who wish to be present for their loved one when they are dying.

Other highlights of the GSF report included: ? A good ratio of staff to residents meaning agency staff are rarely used ? Mandatory end-of-life training for all ? Quarterly end-of-life training with the local hospice, provided by the local care provider association, which highlights updates on changes to legislation and frameworks, as well as bi-monthly reviews of care skills ? Staff are encouraged to visit and work in the sister home to ensure a variety of care experiences and develop their knowledge and skills.

The assessor also commented on Avalon’s strong involvement with the Bridgwater community and an emphasis on growing and moving forward combined with “a real drive to improve the care and lives of the residents in the home.”

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