Introducing Dial House Care Home

Choosing the right nursing and residential care home for a parent, family member, or even yourself can seem overwhelming, especially as you may feel under additional pressure to make the right decision quickly.

For example, we can support a wide range of people including those with specialist care needs or are living with dementia. Often people will be privately funded but they may also get financial support from the local authority, the NHS or a combination of these. A social worker may suggest a range of care homes that have the facilities and skilled staff to accommodate these more complex needs. However, in most cases, you can choose any suitable care home in the local authority area and still receive funding. This means, of course, that you can choose the most suitable home that meets the need of the future resident.

At Dial House, our senior management team has over 30 years’ experience helping families, just like yours, to understand your rights and choices as you make these difficult, and often emotional decisions.

Why Dial House

Set in a tree-lined, residential road, within walking distance of both Bedford town centre and train station, Dial House has modern facilities that create an enabling, relaxed and homely environment.

We provide person-centred nursing and residential care, long and short-term day care and respite care for up to 50 residents in Bedford. This includes older people and younger adults who are living with dementia, mental health, a physical disability, or a sensory impairment. We can also support people who are transitioning from the hospital back to their own home.

Plate of fruit
Cutting fruits and vegetables

What questions should I be asking?

When choosing a nursing and residential care home, there are several important considerations for you to make:

  1. Will the care home provide the right level of personal care?
  2. Does the care home have the right environment that will make my family member (or myself) happy and at ease?
  3. Does the care home allow residents to bring in personal items and furniture to make their room feel more like home and the transition from independent to assisted living smoother?
  4. Does the care home provide residents with links to their local community and network?
  5. Is the care affordable in the long term, whether from local social services or other sources?
  6. Have all family members been consulted on this important decision?

Quality care for your loved one

“The home is clean and welcoming and systems are in place to promote good infection control.”

Here at Dial House, we pride ourselves on our quality of care, and have been consistently rated ‘GOOD’ by the Care Quality Commission. Click here to read our latest report.

What type of care are you looking for?

Before admission for nursing and residential care, we undertake an in-depth assessment to ensure we can meet all potential resident’s needs.

Nursing Care

Dial House has an excellent reputation for the quality of nursing care it provides to adults over 40 with physical and terminal illnesses.

We are specialists in end of life care and provide your loved ones with essential pain control and all the medical equipment required for their comfort in their final days, including pressure-relieving mattresses, cushions and other equipment.

Qualified nurses are on duty 24 hours a day. They are assisted by well-trained, experienced care staff, all of whom have specialist palliative care training and are fully supported by Macmillan nurses.

Day Care

Dial House Day Care offers a flexible service that can be tailored to your individual needs, from providing supervision and companionship to giving a bath or helping with dressing and exercises.

Day care is provided at Dial House, and all the facilities of the home are available.

If you are looking for help at home, click here to visit our ‘Home Care’ Service page.

Residential Care

Our home is light, spacious and comfortable and our emphasis is friendliness coupled with efficiency to make life for our residents as supportive and meaningful as possible. Redecoration generally takes place when a room becomes vacant.

Although very rare, if it becomes necessary to move a resident to another room, they are never moved without family consent.

Safety is our top priority, and we follow safe recruitment practices. All of our staff are trained in safeguarding and delivering care with dignity and respect. In shared rooms, screens are always used to ensure our residents’ privacy and dignity.

Creating a stimulating environment is also extremely important here at Dial House. We have an activity officer who plans a full and varied program of social events to suit all our residents.

Respite Care

Sometimes your carer may need a break to recharge their batteries or to take a holiday. We can provide respite care within the home, either nursing or residential which can be funded privately or through social services.

Please contact us on 01234 356555 for further information and to discuss your requirements.

Dial House services in more detail

Staff

Our manager Anne Bustin oversees the day-to-day running and operations here at Dial House, and our Deputy Manager Janice Irvine heads up a team of more than 60, of which 10 are fully qualified nurses and the remainder Care Assistants and Ancillary staff.

Our experienced staff are fully trained and receive regular Continuous Professional Development (CPD) training from NVQ assessors. Many of our team have been working at Dial House for many years, and all of us strive to give our residents the best possible care, treating them with dignity, kindness and respect.

Facilities

Most of our rooms here at Dial House are single occupancy, with many having en-suite facilities. We also have some double rooms, if preferred. All rooms are equipped with profiling beds, a radio-controlled nurse call system and all the equipment needed to offer full nursing care. They have remote-controlled televisions, and there is also the facility for a private telephone line if requested.

Residents are encouraged to bring any personal possessions they want, and decorate their rooms as they wish.

We have several bathrooms with state of the art height adjustable baths and shower rooms.

Alongside several lounges that give residents a choice of where they wish to spend their time, we have beautiful large, private and accessible gardens which boast a patio, terrace and lawns for residents to enjoy when the weather allows.

Activities

Here at Dial House, we make every attempt to create a mentally stimulating environment.

We have a full-time activity co-ordinator who plans and organise a full program of events, activities and entertainment for all residents, including those unable to leave their rooms.

All residents are encouraged to maintain and extend their independence. Occupational therapy and physiotherapy is available via the NHS.

Residents have access to a library service with a variety of books and movies. We also have frequent entertainers and other outside entertainment such ‘Pets As Therapy’ visits.

Visitors

We are currently operating with the national guidance on visiting in care homes. Please contact us for the latest advice but in normal times we have no fixed visiting hours.

Visitors are encouraged to visit freely and take their relatives out wherever possible and we do have a supply of wheelchairs to facilitate this.

Meals

Healthy, nutritious meals are offered to our residents on a four-week set menu rotation that is changed every four months. Alternatives are always available, along with specific dietary requests.

Social connection is of great importance here at Dial House, and we encourage residents to use the dining room at mealtimes. Of course, meals can be taken in rooms when needed or preferred.

Valuables

Although we do discourage keeping objects of value, we do have an on-site safe for residents to keep their small valuables in.

Our insurance details are in the Terms and Conditions of Admission.

Resident Safety

The safety of our residents is our top priority.

Although the front door is always open during daylight hours, it is controlled by a coded access system to maintain the safety and security of the residents.

Residents have constant access to our rear gardens however, the perimeter gates are kept locked.