Wickham Care Home

My mother had an appallingly dreadful time at this care home which still haunts us all. If you are looking for a home for a relative with dementia, I strongly advise against this woefully inadequate place which failed on so many levels to provide even the most basic care. Principally, they failed to carry out an adequate assessment of my mother's needs and very readily accepted her for a respite placement without many checks in order to fill an empty bed. They quickly admitted they could not provide the care she needed but expected to have her for a six-week respite stay. They failed to report many, many safeguarding concerns and so we had to report eight different issues to Adult Social Care. A subsequent investigation found that she experienced NEGLECT and ACTS OF OMISSION in relation to personal care, nutrition, hydration, communication and safeguarding. They did not treat her with dignity and care and my mother was clearly unhappy there. The food was processed and disgusting - when she did not eat it, they decided that she had problems swallowing and pureed it for her without having a SLT assessment. We had to bring in food and sit with her - she had no issue chewing apples or eating other food we brought. They did not assist her to be independent and use the toilet, preferring to allow soil herself when she was continent on arrival. Some of the staff were sullen and obviously unhappy at having to care for a vulnerable and unwell person they were so clearly untrained to deal with. We repeatedly spoke to staff and management about making adaptations for her but despite assurances, they did not do anything. One member of staff even told my sister to take her photographs and personal belongings away because 'all she does is knock them over'. Mum had an undiagnosed UTI which went unnoticed by this home and she suffered badly with this. Her feet became blistered from walking so much and she was limping by the time she left - they did not get a doctor to look at her. When the six weeks were over, they became quite unpleasant and applied a lot of pressure to get my mother moved to another home, suggesting to ASC that they should be paid more to care for her. Extremely distressing.

Excellent Care. Couldn’t be happier with the care that was provided to my father John during his stay here. The staff have a difficult job to do bug they do it with a smile providing the dignity and respect to the residents. Appreciate everything you do.

My mother is in here for the short term, the carer's all seem very dedicated to providing the care needs of the residents and we always find the place very clean, only 4 stars? Sorry to say but the food isn't good, very basic but they will heat up anything you bring in , never a problem 😀