Statement of Purpose

Portway House specialist care centre was established to provide excellent care to younger adults aged eighteen and over with acquired brain injury, complex needs, rehabilitation and specialist nursing care to people who require palliative nursing.

Our aim is to provide extraordinary care, making every moment count, by encouraging safe independence, and enhancing quality of life. Portway House respects the preferences and wishes of our residents and encourages independent best interest decision making. We base our care around collaboratively developing personalised care plans. Placing all of our residents needs at the forefront of our care.

Our objectives are to meet the needs of our residents, by recognising that each resident is an individual, and are free to express themselves as such. When tailoring their care, we encourage the participation of each resident and their relatives if appropriate. With regular care plan reviews, which respond to the individual changes of our residents

Our values

Make it count. We help the residents to make the most of their time with us at Portway House, from personal care to our fine dining experience.

Make someone smile. At Portway House our team strive to make everyone smile and enjoy their time with us.

Make it safe. Whilst promoting independence, we ensure all of our residents’ safety is paramount at Portway House.

Philosophy of care

Portway House provides our residents with a secure and comfortable homely environment. Where their care, well-being and comfort are of the highest importance.

Our residents are treated with dignity and their preferences are respected and supported. The whole team at Portway House, are sensitive to the changing needs of our residents. Care delivery will adapt to the changing needs to ensure a high standard of care delivery.

We have a programme of activities and entertainment designed to stimulate the mind, body and spiritual need, which also encourages social interaction. We recognise that not all of our residents want to be socially interactive all of the time, with this in mind we offer one to one or small group activities, tailored to their specific likes and interests.

The whole team undergo extensive and ongoing training, which consists of supervised on line training and face to face training, delivered by various healthcare professionals.

Facilities

Bedrooms

We have 48 beautifully decorated En-suite bedrooms, with views of the local area. Each room has a set of drawers, wardrobe, comfortable seating, electric sockets, television points hard floors or carpeted rooms are available. Each room has fire resistant or fire-retardant furniture and curtains. Our residents are encouraged to bring in their own ornaments, pictures or art work to make their rooms personalised.

Lounge diner

We have lounge diners on each floor, which offers a selection of comfortable upholstered chairs and sofas. These rooms have hard flooring on one side of the room, with dining tables and dining chairs. On the opposing side of the room we have quality durable carpets. Each lounge area has a Television and fire place to encourage our residents to feel comfortable.

In addition we also have kitchenettes on each floor, tea and coffee making facilities for our residents and their visitors to use.

Toilets and bathrooms

All bedrooms have En-suite facilities we also have toilets situated near focal areas such as lounge diner areas. We have a team of dedicated highly skilled carers, who are on hand day and night to assist our residents with all aspects of personal care in a dignified and respectful manner.

Passenger lift

Portway House has a fully maintained serviced passenger lift, to give access from ground floor to first, second and third floor level. A member of the team will always assist a resident to use the passenger lift.

Laundry and domestic

The laundry room is situated on the ground floor, this is equipped with high specification industrial washing machines, dryers and other laundry facilities. The laundry costing is inclusive of the room fee. Dry cleaning can be arranged by an outside provider, should the resident request this chargeable service. Laundry is separated and then distributed back to the resident’s rooms, by our laundry team.

The domestic team here at Portway House ensure that all communal areas are clean and free from odour. The team prevent the risk of infection by thoroughly cleaning the care centre daily. The whole team promote infection prevention by following the policies and procedures and encouraging visitors to wash their hands when entering and leaving the centre.

Telephones

Portway House has telephone points available, should the residents require their own telephone installation. Residents can receive telephone calls at any time and are invited to use the reception telephone should they wish for a small charge.

Garden

The garden can be accessed via the lounge diner on ground floor or through reception. Wheelchair users can access the garden by using the paved patio that wraps around the building. We have an artificially grassed area, and various plants. We also have potted plants and an area for a vegetable patch, where residents are encouraged to grow their own plants and vegetables.

Smoking

Portway House Care Centre operates a strict no smoking policy. Residents who wish to smoke are invited to do so in the designated smoking area in the garden located via ground floor.

Maintenance

Our maintenance operative deals with any repairs as quickly as possible. He will also check wheelchairs, nursing chairs, walking frames and residents’ beds. The nurse call points are checked on a regular basis to ensure all of our residents can access support should they need this whilst relaxing in their own rooms.

Security

To protect the residents, relatives and team members, the front entrance is locked by a security key pad, this is to monitor who is visiting the building. This is linked to the fire alarm system, should the fire alarm activate, the front door will automatically open. The residents are free to come and go whenever they wish, they will be assisted by a member of the team to access outside should they require it.

To ensure the safety of our residents, visitors and our team members, there are closed circuit television cameras in operation both inside and outside of the building, which can be operated remotely. Respecting the privacy of everyone visiting or living at Portway House, whilst monitoring their safety.

A safety deposit facility is available for our residents to keep small amounts of personal allowance or valuables. This will be signed in and out by the resident or their nominated relative or friend.

Meal service

We celebrate fine dining at Portway House by providing a unique dining experience. All diets and cultures are catered for, taking particular care with allergy advice.

We recognise that the dining experience is an important social interaction, and should be delivered at a high standard. We source good quality ingredients which are beautifully presented, irrelevant of the individual dietary requirements. Our chefs develop the menu with suggestions and requests from our residents, with the option of a suitable alternative if requested.

We have extensive knowledge surrounding the need for fortified diets should residents require additional nutrition, with recommendations from nurses, dieticians and other relevant healthcare professionals. Our chefs also have experience with altered texture diet for those who may experience swallowing difficulties.

External partners

We have many external healthcare professionals attending the care centre in order to enhance the lives of our residents. We have a dedicated General Practitioner who will visit our residents should they require a doctor. We also have the facility to refer residents to podiatry, community physiotherapy or any other National Health Service ancillary professional.

We work in partnership with the local optical service and dentistry to promote excellent oral health. Should a resident experience difficulty attending community appointments, we will be happy to arrange domiciliary visits.

Hairdressing

We have a fully equipped hair salon on site, where a qualified hairdresser attends weekly for a competitive price. Should our residents have their own hairdresser, we invite them to come in to the home and feel free to use the hair salon with an agreed appointment time.

Religious observance

It is important that our residents feel free to express their individual culture or religion. Where possible this will be facilitated by our team at Portway House. Who will liaise with the most appropriate person or establishment.

Celebrating differences

We recognise that everyone is unique and we celebrate the differences of our residents. In line with the Equality Act 2010 we take regard of protected characteristics and champion diversity at Portway House. Our residents can feel safe and comfortable to be who they want to be, in a supported environment.