Priory The Birches

We support our residents to attend family events and visit their family homes. We will work with the resident and their relatives to ensure possible risks are managed and that everyone is supported. This may mean the individual’s key worker will come along on the visit.

Family and friends are welcome to visit The Birches, although we ask that visits are planned in advance to support individual needs. Unfortunately, we do not have facilities to enable family members to stay overnight at the home.

Yes, we strive to keep the loved ones of our residents involved in their care, where appropriate. We regularly invite families to meetings at the home, where they will meet with the residents’ support team and hear about recent happenings at the home. We can also arrange more regular catch-ups either in person or via telephone, to ensure families are kept informed.

Everyone who stays with us are supported to call their loved ones any time, via phone or video call. We have a landline and various cordless phones for residents to use. In addition, we can support our residents to get their own mobile phone, where appropriate.

Bedrooms are all furnished and we will support our residents to personalise their spaces to suit their needs and wishes.

Due to the nature of our service, our external gates are locked. However, every resident will be risk assessed to determine the level of security needed. All our exit doors are locked with keypads and those residents who are able to independently come and go, will be provided with the exit codes.

Residents are supported to choose and prepare what they want to eat, whenever they like. We will, however, support residents who have concerns around meal times, such as preparing their food. Our team will also seek guidance from family members and nutritionists to ensure that special dietary requirements are catered for.

Residents are given help to do their own laundry, as part of promoting independence. Our staff are on hand to offer support if and when it is required. Our team will ensure that residents always have access to clean clothes and bedding.

Most of our residents undertake domiciliary tasks such as cleaning, and there is a rota in place to assign tasks. Our care team support them with these tasks, and task allocation is also discussed in our monthly resident meetings.

Residents are not allowed to bring illegal substances onto the premises. We would also ask that people do not bring high risk personal items into the house. We may place restrictions on some items where the risks cannot be appropriately managed, such as non-approved drugs and medications, solvent-based products and lighters.

Activities are planned according to our residents’ choices and interests. Thorough risk assessments are conducted before any activity. Everyone has a tailored activities planner, which will include both in-house activities as well as visits into the community. Their key worker may use a variety of communication tools to ensure they can have an input into the planning of activities.

We use the PROACT-SCIPr-UK® framework, which means we focus on proactive strategies, rather than physical intervention. In addition, all of our staff members are trained in positive behaviour support (PBS) techniques. We require our care plans which include restrictions to be assessed frequently, for example procedures for interventions such as pro re nata (PRN) medication are regularly reviewed and removed, where possible.

We work with social workers, family members, and our residents to develop care plans which are in the best interests of each person. We use a variety of communication tools and work with health professionals to aid each resident in having a say about every aspect of their care. Care plans are regularly reviewed, and family members will be asked for their input, where appropriate.

We don’t have off-road parking at the service. Street parking is permit-only but you can park for free on a specific area on the street for up to two hours. You can also park on the road round the corner for longer stays.

Residents can smoke by the designated smoking area in the back garden, which has a shelter. We don’t permit smoking inside the building, and this includes vapes. Residents are able to buy cigarettes and vapes at the shops, if this is what they choose.

Our fees can vary, and are based on an assessment of each individual's needs. Many people are eligible for financial help towards the cost of support, and this funding can be accessed by contacting your local authority. Once funding has been agreed, we will work with your local care team to put together a bespoke package of care. Please note, referrals for NHS or Local Authority funded services must come from a referring organisation.