Caring staff who support people with a range of disabilities and mental health needs in specialist homes have been praised following a series of visits by Healthwatch South Tyneside.
Healthwatch was asked by the Adult Social Services Quality Team at South Tyneside Council to visit eight homes to give an independent view on how residents were treated and whether they felt they are living a good quality of life.
The Enter and View visits (Healthwatch has a legal power to visit health and social care services) were carried out between last October and February this year. Individual reports were written for each home which will be fed into their quality assurance process as well as a combined summary report for the Council.
The eight homes were: Belgrave Terrace; Dean View Villas; Fairholme; Harmony House; McAnany Avenue and Wallace Lodge/Wallace Mews in South Shields and Deneside Court and North View in Jarrow.
The living room at North View in Jarrow.
Healthwatch staff spoke to staff, residents and relatives/friends and 44 residents and seven relatives/friends took part in a survey.
The vast majority of residents and relatives/friends who spoke to our Enter and View team and/or completed the questionnaire were very happy with the care they received.
Staff we met clearly work hard and demonstrate a caring attitude towards the residents they support, who have a wide range of needs.
The efforts made to ensure the people in their care had as fulfilling a life as possible ranged from a holiday to Egypt to a chef described as a ‘lovely man’ who always tried to accommodate residents’ personal preferences at mealtimes.
We saw various examples of good practice which we felt could be shared with other specialist care homes in the borough – nice touches such as photos of current and past residents on display at North View and Wallace Mews taking residents out to hairdressers rather than having them come to the home.
In addition, we felt some homes achieved a particularly good rapport between staff and residents as detailed in the individual reports.
We did encounter one or two issues with pre-arranged visits where either key staff or residents were not available, which necessitated return visits.
Recommendations in individual reports include improved communication with residents, a little more warmth in the décor and ensuring where possible residents have a full understanding of their care plan.
The garden at Harmony House
All care homes were invited to respond to their report and six out of the eight took up this opportunity for input.
Joy Kerr, Service Manager at Potensial properties Belgrave Terrace & Kensington Hall, said:
“We welcomed the visit by Healthwatch and your valuable insights. Having an independent view is always useful, and we really value the way Healthwatch helps bring residents’ voices to the front.”
Bernice Holohan, Registered Service Manager for St John of God facility North View, wrote:
“Your surveys and conversations will give us helpful insight into what’s going well and where we can keep improving. Having an independent view is always useful, and we really value the way Healthwatch helps bring residents’ voices to the front.”
Healthwatch received thanks from South Tyneside Council for the visits and detailed reports. Vicki Pattinson, Director of Adult Social Services and Commissioning, said:
“We greatly appreciate the significant work undertaken by Healthwatch South Tyneside in compiling this report and capturing the lived experiences of people receiving care.
“It is particularly heartening to see the positive feedback highlighted, which reflects the compassion, commitment, and high standards demonstrated by many of our providers and staff each day.
“These examples of good practice showcase the profound impact that high quality, person-centred care has on people’s lives.
“The report also brings to light important themes such as effective communication with residents, fostering welcoming and homely environments, and ensuring everyone has a clear understanding of their care and support plans.
“These aspects are fundamental to delivering consistent, high-quality care, and we are committed to working closely with providers and partners to strengthen these areas—enhancing communication, improving care environments, and ensuring every resident is fully involved in decisions about their care.
“We value the valuable insight this report provides, and it complements our own quality assurance processes in supporting ongoing improvement. We will continue to work in close partnership with Healthwatch, residents, carers and providers to ensure services remain safe, responsive and centred on what matters most to people.”
Read the full report at https://www.healthwatchsouthtyneside.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Its-My-Home-report-April-2026.pdf
