Joseph House

Updated 16 February 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 26 January 2022 and was announced. We gave the service one hours notice of the inspection.

Updated 16 February 2022

The inspection took place on 25 October 2018 and was unannounced.

At our last inspection on 11 October 2017, we found the registered provider was in breach of five regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. These included those for person-centred care, mental capacity, assessing and mitigating risk, governance, and staff training. In addition they were in breach of one regulation of the CQC Registration Regulations 2009, regarding notifications. At this inspection, we found that improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of the regulations.

Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve all of the key questions to at least good.

Joseph House provides accommodation, care and support for up to 40 people with learning disabilities. Joseph House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

There were some concerns around infection control and the safety of the environment in some areas. The communal bathrooms we looked at were not clean, and some of the fittings were in a poor state of repair.

Risk assessments to the environment were not in place for the home and each person, such as assessing whether people’s bedrooms had any risks identified, and whether these were mitigated appropriately.

Risk assessments associated with people’s health conditions had improved since our previous inspection and were detailed with risks to individuals in line with their own care and support requirements. Information within care plans was accurate and up to date. Staff had guidance to mitigate specific risks to people.

There were improvements in staffing in the home. There were staff available to support people when needed, and staff had training relevant to their roles and they knew what support people needed.

The service had improved and was compliant with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). People had mental capacity assessments for specific decisions that were being made about their care. Staff sought consent before delivering care, and only restricted some people’s liberty in line with the legislation.

Quality assurance systems had improved, and those in place identified most areas where improvements were needed, with the exception of some environmental checks, such as the cleanliness of the bathrooms. There were improved quality assurance systems around gaining feedback from people and analysing the results. Action was taken where there were identified faults in any health and safety related equipment, such as fire doors.

People’s medicines were administered safely by staff who were trained to do so, and medicines were stored securely.

There were recruitment checks in place, however staff application forms had not always been filled out thoroughly.

Staff carried out personal care behind closed doors and respected people’s dignity and privacy. Staff adapted their communication to encourage people to make choices. People’s interests and hobbies were supported and there was a range of activities and entertainment within the home on offer, with some people going out regularly into the local community and nearby town. People and their families had been involved in planning care for people when they wanted.

People’s care plans had improved and were person-centred with details of individual preferences, and updated accurately when they were reviewed.

People received enough to eat and drink throughout the day and people were supported to access healthcare services.