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Chaston House is located in Acton, West London. The care home is on a quiet residential side street but is only a 10-minute walk from Acton town centre. The home has excellent transport links and is close to major bus routes and Acton Main Line railway station.
Chaston House is a small care home providing care for 12 elderly residents, including 1 with dementia and 1 with a mental disorder. The home does not, at present, have a lift, so residents living on the upper floors must be fully mobile to access the rooms. Nevertheless, the owners are looking at ways to remedy this.
CSCI report and cost
Chaston House has a ‘good’ 2-star CSCI rating, following its last inspection in July 2007. The inspection praised the home for its staff retention, which ‘helped to provide continuity for the people in the home’ and the homely atmosphere created by the staff and environment.
The care home scored consistently well throughout the inspection and only a small number of minor improvements were recommended.
A bed at Chaston House costs £440-£480 per week, which is slightly cheaper than average for the area.
The owners’ view
Chaston House is owned by Edward and Scarlet Leatham and managed by Penny Rixon. The Leathams are hands-on owners and take a keen interest in the development and improvement of the home (such as finding a way to fit a lift into the property) and try to make any changes to improve the residents’ quality of life.
Edward says: “When we bought the home 4 years ago it was a little run down, a little tired – and in our opinion, overcrowded. We’ve lost 2 double rooms as a result – but now the rooms are lovely and big and people can move in with all of their furnishings.
“When we purchased the home it was registered for 14 users – but now it has 12. It works well and it’s a cosy home. It’s very much a home rather than an institution.”
The Leathams are also eager to look after their staff and alongside Penny have been able to encourage staff to remain at the home. The longest serving staff member has worked at Chaston for 12 years and Scarlet believes this is because of the homely environment at Chaston House. She says:
“The home is client friendly and the staff get a real attachment to the residents and because they know them well they take a personal interest in them. Staff get to know the families when they visit – so they have an investment in the home. Everybody knows everybody and that helps to build a little community.
Life at Chaston House
Although Chaston House provides care for 12 people, the staff are limited in the activities they can provide due to the nature of residents’ individual conditions. Therefore, to ensure residents are appropriately stimulated, the management looks for ways to tailor activities to their individual needs. This can mean working in small groups for reminiscence, playing games or bingo.
The residents also enjoy regular trips to nearby Acton and Ealing and can go to the local shops (if able) to buy newspapers and groceries.
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