Merlewood Care Home - Elizabeth Finn Homes Ltd

Nov 27th, 2022

Sep 14th, 2018

My father in law was a resident here from July 2017 till March 2018 during which time he was subjected to poor nursing care, a lack of attention and a failure in administration and management. My father in law was well received by the care home and a care-plan was agreed. However, it soon became clear that the care staff either did not follow, or were not aware of how to look after him. He was left in silence in his room, often improperly dressed, cold and uncomfortable in his chair slumped to one side. He was often left out of social events (those that were not cancelled) and when he was taken, it was without his glasses, leaving him unable to participate. We saw that there were clearly not enough trained nursing and caring staff and so basic care tasks were not being performed. The nursing and care he received was often poor. He suffered multiple injuries during transfer from bed to chair to bath. He was not bathed as often as was recorded and he was left in urine-soaked clothing causing him multiple urinary tract infections (which he had never had before). His specific dietary requirements and eating habits were not taken into consideration and my father lost a lot of weight. When he needed medication for his infections, this was very slow to be administered, causing him physical and mental strain. Basic administration tasks were poorly handled. His diet plan was not logged and his clothes kept going missing even though everything was clearly labelled. Within a month, we complained to the nursing staff directly. Our concerns were handled poorly and my father in law's care did not improve, so we escalated our complaints twice, up to the level of general management. Part of the problem was that the problems we were able to see were not reflected in the records kept by nursing staff. As our experiences did not match the records kept by staff, it became difficult for management to work out what was actually happening. When he suffered his last infection - we were cruelly informed that this was an 'end-of-life' event by mobile telephone! We had no prior indication that he was this ill. Nursing staff even asked the family's advice about how much medication to administer whilst discussing my father in law''s impending death in front of him. So poor was the end-of-life care at Merlewood that we had to involve an external hospice to assess him and advise us on what to do. All in all, our experience of this nursing home has been traumatic and has left us all feeling that we would rather not have left our father there. We were hoping that his life here would have been much better than it was in his own home and that the family could finally spend quality time with him rather than dealing with his complex care needs ourselves. This proved not to be the case. The time we had with him caused us just as much stress and anxiety and was nowhere near the amount of time we would have expected, given his untimely death.
Apr 17th, 2020

My mother has lived at Merlewood for around 18 months and I wanted to say how pleased I am we chose Merlewood as my mother's new home. She has been under both residential care and nursing care and her care under both these situations has been excellent. My mum is sometimes unwell but the staff there are always aware of when mum is poorly and advises us what action will be taken to help her get well again. I know mum is really well cared for at Merlewood. She loves the activities which are arranged and goes to as many as she feels able. There are activities every day, so if mum wanted to she could be busy all day long. But sometimes mum chooses to stay in her room and that is fine as there are staff going past her room frequently and she can always press the buzzer to call for help if need be. The staff at Merlewood are marvellous and very caring and I would have no hesitation recommending Merlewood.
Nov 18th, 2018

Very sadly I have to agree with what the other one star reviewer has said. I chose this home for my mum having looked at a total of 28 homes offering dementia and nursing care. Realising at the very last minute that mum would be better in a non-dementia nursing home, if they would take her, I found Merlewood and was very impressed on looking around. I feel now, apart from this being the only non-dementia nursing home that I saw (and dementia and nursing being a particularly difficult combination - re finding a good home), I was seduced by the ambiance and the decor and apparent peace and calm of the place, as well as the beautiful grounds and setting. However, within the first few months there were many problems and I echo what the other 1 star reviewer has said - mum was found distressed and in a soiled nappy many times, she was left in her room alone for hours on end. Her eyes needed regularly cleaning ditto her teeth, which wasnt kept on top of. Despite repeated complaints and taking our complaints to the highest level possible, they were not resolved. We think mum just gave up in the end as she was so alone so much of the time, despite the family visiting regularly and as much as possible and we all feel very sad and regret mum having being there. Like the other reviewer, the staff did not write up accurately or regularly what had been done, or not done, so it was very difficult to have a meeting with those records and to try and argue they were not reflecting her care, or lack or it, accurately. There is a huge lack of handover/communication problem between staff which seems unresolvable. I heard often from senior staff that the care staff, particularly those that had been there an extremely long time (which, on the face of it, would seem a good thing) actually run the place and do not follow what they are instructed to do by the management team. THis seems entrenched in this care home. I would not recommend any friends or family to send their loved one there. The other side to the nursing side is totally different and everyone there seems well looked after and happy and, as far as i could tell, with no complaints. HOwever, if your loved one needs nursing care then i would avoid this place. Dont be seduced by the peace and calm - people needing stimulation and care are left alone in their rooms for long periods of time and this partly accounts for it. The beautifully appointed lounge - on the nursing side - are very rarely used. Our time visiting mum there was one of huge stress and upset and we tried very hard to manage her care and work with the care home but she gave up in the end. I dont blame her but wish we could have found somewhere better - its always a huge task to find somewhere in the first instnance and then becomes harder and harder to move someone, the more frail they become. A sad affair all round. Please keep on looking for the best place for your loved one if they need nursing care and dont send them here.
Nov 10th, 2018