Care England visit to Hutton View

On 23 June, Policy Manager Louis Holmes, and Policy Officer Fraser Rickatson visited Hallmark’s Hutton View in Essex. During the visit, we received a tour of the home, met with the residents and joined them in their activities, and were given insight into the high-quality services provided.

Hutton View is a residential home that is opening a nursing floor opening soon. The home provides supportive care for those with dementia, physical disabilities and sensory impairments. We received a warm welcome from Arif Muhammad, Hospitality Service Manager and Martin Murphy, Operations Director and were provided with a guided tour around the care home. During this tour, we were shown some of the impressive facilities that Hutton View offers, such as the fully landscaped gardens complete with an allotment, a sensory walk and a log cabin for residents and their families to use. On the tour, we also had the opportunity to learn the history of Hutton View, and how they have tackled the significant pressures that the sector faces.

After viewing all of Hutton View, we joined in some of the exciting activities Hutton View has for the residents and had the opportunity to learn more about what life is like in care. Our first activity was Arts and Crafts, where we got to design and decorate masks with the residents, using a variety of different items and colours to represent the different seasons. Following this, we joined in on the resident’s weekly ‘Move It or Lose It’ class, which offered a range of different exercises specially developed for older persons, and people with limited mobility to help improve their flexibility, strength, and general health. After this activity, we went for lunch and enjoyed a fantastic three-course meal with the residents, learning more about their lives and their life at Hutton View.

Our visit ended with Hutton View’s “Cocktail Friday”, where residents come together and sample a range of different cocktails made by Arif while taking part in a themed quiz on the drinks that have been served. It was wonderful to see all the residents and team members together and understand how close everyone is to each other.

On the day of our visit, it was also their seventy-third anniversary for two of the residents, Nina and Neil, and we were lucky enough to join the rest of the residents and team at Hutton View to celebrate this momentous occasion with them. The team at Hutton View had prepared a private meal for the couple on one of their roof terraces, followed by a gorgeous cake prepared by the kitchen team to mark this milestone, which was shared with everyone along with the cocktails.

Our visit to Hutton View came about with Care Home Open Week 2023, hosted by Championing Social Care, wherein care providers across the country will be opening their doors for people in the community to learn more about their services and social care as a whole. We would like to thank all the team members and residents for their wonderful hospitality, and to invite us to share their experiences with us. It was lovely to experience the incredible bonds that the team have with their residents. The carers’ relationship with their residents was demonstrably strong and made the atmosphere of Hutton View truly a home for all.

Picture: Louis Holmes and Fraser Rickatson with Arif Muhammad