ABSTRACT
Sussex House and Kent House were both social services residential settings each offering approximately 45 places, while Surrey House was the only mental health trust venue and offered 20 places on a continuing care basis. By contrast, after a difficult and unpromising start, Essex House achieved an incredible amount during the latter stages of year two, purely as a result of the manager understanding the necessity of the work and taking a strong lead. Prior to Jackie's departure, we worked with staff using life history documents, therapeutically planned activities of daily living for a sample of residents, and explored the feasibility of individual goal planning at Surrey House. The impact of implementing these changes constituted nothing less than a shift in practice, attitudes and culture within each care setting. Perhaps the Westminster Project's lasting legacy will be the acquisition of knowledge relevant to developing activity cultures in long-term care settings, rather than its contribution to the actual care settings involved.
