Abbeyfield England Avis 8

My status here is simply an invited visitor. I have some new friends living in Stanhope House, Honiton UK EX14.

The small building was restored in 1998 and has been extensively renovated and modernised in 2023. It has 12 tastefully decorated apartments and I have been invited into one of them. My impression was 'sumptuous, cosy ,comfortable' and importantly in December, warm.

When I arrived I was immediately made welcome by a polite lady staff member when I rang the front door bell and pursuing my pledge to ITV's MILLION MINUTES Initiative I have now spent about 300 minutes talking with, and listening to a couple of residents, one younger than me at 77 and one over 80. I will go in again early next year as I enjoyed the experience.

The comfortable lounge has windows looking out over the High Street and there are deep ample settees into which the twelve residents may nestle. Those that wish to do so can walk easily into the town, use their bus pass to travel to Sidmouth or Seaton for a breath of fresh air, but they will want to be back promptly for lunch at 1230 and tea at the end of the afternoon.

The varied lunch menu caters for all tastes and selections are made for the following week.
A simple breakfast is taken by each individual in their own room. As you would expect the whole thing adds up to reasonably good value at around £1450 a month. Abbeyfield is reportedly a bit 'picky' about their clients as they don't want any 'riff raff'. But so far so good but there is a BUT…

Living with anyone can be niggling. Many happy marriages include the 'no go' factor; something that there is no point discussing as couples have been there before and 'it is what it is.'

Here you will be living with 11 other people. I am not a mathematician but you will probably be in an environment with getting on for at least 150 potential 'niggles' flying around daily. There is one TV in the lounge but it may well be monopolized by a couple of long standing, or rather, sitting residents who were here first. You can have your own TV in your room if you wish. As food is involved there will be niggles about that. 'That cook is on again today, he's the one I don't like… look at this mash.' 'I know dear but it is hot, actually too hot.' You can easily imagine the niggling. 'Now they are coming with that Hoover again.'

As all the main meals are taken together there is plenty for a niggler to feed on there. So if you are planning to be a resident, and have been accepted, will you plan to settle in carefully and get to know 'who's whom'?

Do keep in mind also that this is not a 'Care Home' or 'Nursing Home', but I am sure you will be told that. They do provide a 24 hour 'piper' alert system if a resident is in trouble. The staff are in STANHOPE HOUSE daily from 9am to 3pm. Then you are on your own, apart from the other residents.

I leave that with you and you will see that I have given STANHOPE HOUSE a fully justified 4* but I say again that I am only a visitor, but there is nothing wrong with a 'drop in view' I feel.

When published this review is automatically sent to ABBEYFIELD and I will be delighted if they correct any errors of fact in my review.

Thank you for reading this and my thanks to Trust Pilot for this useful platform. If you could spare a quick 'like' I would be grateful.

A nice, happy place to live. My aunt is very happy at Abbeyfield after moving in earlier this year. The staff are lovely, food is great and the home feels safe, warm and comfortable. It's really lovely.

I cannot praise this care home highly enough.

My mother in law came into Abbeyfield, Winnersh, Berkshire from sheltered accommodation as she needed 24 hour care. From the moment we stepped inside to visit, we felt a really warm atmosphere and observed happy residents.

Amanda, the manager, met us and spent some time explaining about the home and how things were run. She gave us a lot of advice, and did not concentrate on a heavy sales pitch which we appreciated.

We were shown the rooms, gardens and the general resident areas. To be honest, we knew this was the right place for my mother in law from this initial viewing and didn’t bother to visit any more homes.

We observed a full programme of events designed to stimulate and, after moving in, my mother in law told us how lovely the staff were - a high accolade as she was not easy to please!

This care home does not stint on staff to resident ratio and their prices were no higher than similar private care homes, but what they offer, is in my opinion, considerably more.

Sadly my mother in law was very ill, more so than we had realised so her stay was shorter than anticipated. The in house nurses looked after her and all the stress of calling out district nurses, doctors and palliative care nurses was taken from us and my mother In law did not have to spend her final days in a hospital. The end of life care she received in this home was second to none and everyone was very supportive of ourselves as well as my mother in law.

Our grateful thanks to Amanda, the home manager, and all her staff.

There appears to be a culture there among the management and staff of cajoling the residents into a state of acquiescence whereby any complaints are either ignored or treated with hostility. The residents handbook talks of a warm family friendly environment. The reality is totally different. In the interest's of balance the relative of a friend had a positive stay at a different Abbeyfield House.

Our local Abbeyfield was a lovely house, but read the small print about minimum tenancy. My mother in law with did a trial and was there 5 days as she did not Settle, the minimum tenancy period is 8 weeks and they will make you pay it all regardless of circumstances. For someone with a very small amount of savings that’s a lot.

Why does my Mother mother have to carry a Rape alarm issued by the Police "INSIDE THE HOUSE"?

Lack of transparency .Lack of directness.None starter with communication .Misleading others .

My experience relates to Abbeyfield Tamar House, located at 11 Brest Rd, Derriford, Plymouth, PL6 5XN. My 95 year-old mother, lived at Tamar House for 2½ years and was fiercely independent. The staff allowed her this freedom and she became the resident gardener. The staff all watched out for her but without her feeling that she was being watched. It was soft touch and Mum liked it that way. The home were very flexible about me, and my 3 siblings, taking her out (so long as COVID rules were followed) and Mum enjoyed the last years of her life very much.
When Mum became ill with an aggressive tumour on her liver, the staff rallied round and provided extra care until the ambulance arrived to take her to hospital. When it became apparent that her cancer was terminal, with days rather than weeks being the timescale, the manager and senior staff rallied round and strongly recommended that she be brought home for her last days. The hospital was reluctant but were persudaed to allow this to happen. A room was set aside and personalised with many of Mum's photos and ornaments placed in it and we were given unrestricted access with a staff member on hand 24/7. As a family, we felt that the hospital ward, being so busy with bleeps every 15-30 seconds, the sounds of people being ill and the general hustle and bustle you would expect, was not where we wanted Mum to end her days and the transfer took place. The room was peaceful and we were able to sit around and talk to her while she slept, gradually slipping away. The end was very peaceful and beautiful, thanks to all of the team at Tamar House. Thank you so much.