Orchard Lodge Nursing Home Policy Statement and Philosophy

The staff within the Home recognise that its service users should be able to maintain contact with their families, friends, representatives and local community groups and volunteers as they wish, with no official restrictions placed on visits by the Home, with appropriate arrangements made for privacy.

Community Contacts

The Home believes that having regular contact with family, friends and the wider community outside the Home is a crucial part of living a fulfilled and healthy life.

The Home will do its best to provide ample opportunities for its service users to maintain and develop such outside contacts if desired.

The Home also believes that privacy and choice are absolute rights of every service user and with this in mind all service users of this Home should: 

·         Be able to have visitors at any reasonable time, and to develop or maintain links with the local community in accordance with their preferences.

·         Be able to receive visitors in private.

·         Have access to facilities within the Home to entertain guests.

·         Be able to choose whom they do and do not see.

·         Have access to a wide range of social activities outside the Home should they wish to participate in them.

·         Be supported by the Home and by staff if they wish to develop an interest that is outside the Home.

·         Be able to remain at the Home or opt out of community activities should they wish to do so.

Service user’s interests

Each service user’s interests should be supported whenever possible to encourage individuality and staff should: 

·         Discuss individual needs with each service user and complete a list of their likes and dislikes.

·         Give a copy of this policy to relatives, friends and representatives of services users at the time of moving into the Home.

·         Help service users to remain as independent as possible and to offer support and supervision as necessary with respect to activities outside the Home.

·         Ensure that all activities are safe.

The Role of the Home in the Community

The management team will make a positive effort in fostering good working relationships with the local community as a whole.

The Home believes that taking an active and high-profile role in the local community is the best way to serve its service users.   To this end the Home will: 

·         Continue to work with its community contacts to strengthen the position of the Home in the local community.

·         With service user involvement and support put on community and family events: i.e. birthday and Christmas parties.

·         Encourage involvement in the Home by local community groups and/or volunteers according to the wishes of service users.