Archived: Josephine Butler Care Home

The home is in a large detached Victorian Building set out over three floors. It is in a residential road, close to local shops, amenities and a large popular park. There is a car park to the front and gardens to the rear.

The home has 21 bedrooms and a self-contained flat. Each of the bedrooms contained a wash basin. The home had three toilets, one with a shower and one with a bath at the end of each floor, there was an additional toilet at the other end of each floor. On the ground floor there was a kitchen, dining room, games and recreation room with a pool table and darts board, lounge, conservatory, smoking room, laundry and office facilities. There was a lift providing easy access for everybody to all three floors.

The Josephine Butler Care Home providers nursing care for people who need support with their mental health. At the time of our inspection 12 people were living at the home.

The building had previously been a Victorian residential college, it was spacious with high ceilings and some large grand rooms. In places the décor was tired and worn, in particular the upstairs bathrooms. Overall the home was clean.

There was a registered manager in place at the time of our inspection. 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.

We observed a warm, caring and friendly atmosphere at the home. People told us they felt well cared for. The manager, one of the owners and some of the people we spoke with living at the home described the home as having a family atmosphere. People were treated with respect and it was recognised that this was their home.

People living at the home got involved in the daily tasks of the home taking some responsibility for the environment. We witnessed people being offered reassurance in a skilful way when they became anxious or upset.

Many people had lived at the home for a long time. The people we spoke with told us they felt safe at the home. There were adequate numbers of staff at the home, who had received safeguarding training on how to keep people safe. The environment inside the home was safe.

The fire escapes at the home showed signs of corrosion and movement, we advised the manager of this.

Medication was administered safely. However there was no record of medication reviews or monitoring some of the potential side effects of people’s medication.

The home provided people with consistency of staff. These staff had received appropriate training and attended staff team meetings. There was a supervision process for staff at the home.

People told us they liked the food at the home. There was a variety of food and people helped to decide the menu. Alternatives were available and special dietary requirements were catered for.

The management and staff understood the principles of and operated within the Mental Capacity Act 2005. There were no restrictions placed upon people at the home, people were free to come and go as they pleased. People living at the home were supported to make their own decisions.

People told us that staff supported them to do the things they wanted to do. People were treated as individuals and were encouraged to get involved in their care planning.

The manager encouraged feedback from people living at the home, by ‘residents’ meetings, questionnaires and responding to any complaints people made effectively.

People who lived at the home and staff told us they liked the manager. The manager was influential in the relaxed and friendly atmosphere of the home.

The home did not have an effective and up to date set of policies to outline their practice.

A key safety check on the electrical installations was overdue. The service schedule of the lift had not been maintained.

We spoke with three members of staff who held different roles within the service. We also spoke with a health and social care professional that visited the service regularly. They told us that staff provide a safe environment for people and commented: 'Staff try really hard to promote independence.'

People were appropriately supported to make choices and decisions about their care. People that used the service told us their needs were met and that they were happy with the care and support provided. One person commented, 'The staff are caring and help me when I am having an off day.' We found that staff had a good understanding of the support needs of the people living at Josephine Butler Care Home. This included a good working knowledge of mental health issues as well as the appropriate care and treatment options available. Care records demonstrated that people's needs had been assessed and appropriate plans were in place to meet identified support needs. We found evidence of care plans being reviewed regularly.

People told us they felt confident that staff would take the appropriate steps in an emergency or if they became unwell, and that communication between staff and their care team was good.

There was a staff training programme in place and staff said they felt supported by the management. The records we viewed were up to date, accurate and fit for purpose. We observed the staff handling sensitive information and respecting confidentiality.

We saw evidence that people were included in reviews of their care, support and treatment in ways that they understood. One person told us, 'It's much better than it used to be', and another told us that they 'like it'.

The provider had made checks and improvements to the building which meant that people were not at risk from Legionnaires disease.

There were enough skilled and experienced staff on duty to be able to meet the needs of the people who lived at Josephine Butler in a timely manner, and all staff had a satisfactory Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check in place.

We also saw evidence that the organisation was monitoring the quality of the service provided on a regular basis