People using the service had complex needs which meant they were unable to tell us their views; because of this we used a number different methods to help us understand their experiences.With prior agreement we contacted the relatives of two of the service users at Hylton Bank by telephone to obtain their views on the service. One relative told us that overall they rated the service highly. They thought that the care home had a good staffing team and they were able to manage the service user's behavioural needs. They were frequent visitors to the home and they felt it was always clean and tidy.
The other relative said they found the service to be very good. They told us staff were willing to deal with problems as they occurred and communication was good, there were regular meetings with service users and their relatives and representatives. We were told that in particular they felt that there were a lot more activities for their relative to do this last year than ever before. There had been a lot of day trips to the Lake District, York and Edinburgh.
Both relatives we spoke with expressed a wish that the garden could be cultivated further so that the service users could gain more benefit from it. One relative thought that the car park took up too much space.