Care homes for the elderly have come in for bad publicity recently. STEPHEN LEWIS visits one where things are done differently

OUTSIDE in the back garden, Hewie and Jewie are having a squabble, pecking at each-other. It's the time of year, explains Denise Thompson. Normally they're the friendliest pair of ducks you could imagine.

A bit like Spencer, Denise's pet samoyed, a barrel of a dog with fur as white and fluffy as cotton wool, who has befriended the three residents at Denise's care home and welcomes them downstairs every morning. And Polly, the parrot, who finishes everything she says with the name Oliver.

"Denise uses my name 100 times or 1,000 times a day, saying 'do you want this, Oliver? Do you want that, Oliver?' So now, Polly adds the name Oliver on to everything she says," says 85-year-old Oliver Hutchinson, his face creasing with delight.

Wishing Well is not your everyday care home, in case you hadn't realised it. Apart from the menagerie - there are also nine doves and a cat, Bobby - there is the family size of the business.

Denise is the boss, and she runs the home with the help of husband Philip, daughter Nicola and care assistant Michelle Angus.

Wishing Well is based in Denise and Philip's converted, extended semi in Leven Road, Dringhouses. The three residents - Oliver, Patricia Brook, who is 75, and the most recently-arrived of the three, Janet, whose surname we have been asked not to print - have their own bedroom each, decorated to their own taste, in the 'old' part of the house. Denise and Philip themselves live in the extension: which means they're always on hand at night should anyone need them.

Out front, there is a small garden facing a green. At the back, a private garden for the residents, complete with sun room, summer house, duck-pen and dovecotes, as well as several bird-tables, the largest shaped like an old schoolhouse.

Oliver, Patricia and Janet love sitting out there on warm afternoons, Denise says. "They've always got something to see. The girls Patricia and Janet sit in the conservatory all day in summer, chattering and watching the squirrels, the ducks and the doves. It's something to stimulate them."

So are the regular outings - last week, it was to Newby Hall - and the frequent holidays in Denise's holiday caravan at Redcar, where the whole extended Wishing Well family go together.

Oliver has been at the home for just over two years now, since he lost his sight. One of the things he loves about Wishing Well is that it is so small. He knows everyone, including the pets.

"I'm proud to be here!" he says. "Rather than just be a name or a number, I know everybody, and I know the people that visit as well. Spencer has adopted me, and first thing in the morning he sits at the bottom of the stairs and he's always very pleased to see me."

It's that personal touch that appealed to Patricia's son Mike Brook, too.

Like most children of elderly parents, Mike hadn't much liked the thought of finding a care home for his mum. But after a couple of spells in hospital, it became clear she was no longer able to cope on her own.

He checked out two or three homes, then came to see Wishing Well.

"And when I came here, I was just bowled over. It was incredible!" he says. Larger homes had been perfectly nice, but there was an institutional feel about them.

"This is a family. The three clients are members of the family. Denise is able to look after them, give them the individual love and attention you would give to your own parents. The home revolves around them." He pauses for a moment. "I want to come here in 20 years time!" he says.

Denise set up the home six years ago after spending 14 years working at the Wilberfoss Home in York and many more years before that caring for elderly people. She makes no apologies for the personal care she provides.

"When you get older, you've brought your family up, been the worker, and I think you need a bit of spoiling," she says.

Wishing Well may not be for everybody, she admits. Some older people like to be able to retreat into the quiet anonymity of a larger home - and contrary to what many people may think, there are plenty of good homes around, where you can be sure of leaving your parents in good hands.

It's all about choosing the right home for your parents, Denise says. So what is her advice?

"Go around and have a good look," she says. "Ask lots of questions, and then find somewhere that you decide is right for your relative. Everybody is an individual, so you have to know what your mum or dad are like. Think, would your mum and dad respond to this environment? It's horses for courses. What suits some may not suit others."

Pauline Painter has no doubt that Wishing Well suits her dad, Oliver. She lives just across Tadcaster Road from Wishing Well.

"So it couldn't be better because it's so near," she says. "But even if it wasn't, it would be worth travelling to. Everybody treats Dad like a normal person. Its a proper relationship rather than an institutional one."

And that's something money can't buy.

Updated: 11:18 Tuesday, July 01, 2003