Betsy Clara Nursing Home

Updated 21 August 2025

Date of assessment 02 September 2025 to 19 September 2025. We completed this comprehensive assessment to follow up on concerns received about the service. Betsy Clara Nursing Home is a residential care home providing accommodation for persons who require nursing and personal care for up to 50 people. The service is registered to provide support to older people, people with poor mental health and people living with dementia. A person had a learning disability as well as a mental health diagnosis. There were 40 people living at the service. An assessment has been undertaken of a service that is used by autistic people or people with a learning disability but is not registered as a specialist service. We have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

We identified breaches of regulations relating to infection control, consent, good governance and staffing. There had been a lack of clinical and management oversight of constipation risks because systems had not been embedded to review bowel charts for people who suffered with constipation. We observed some carpets and flooring around the service which required replacing due to stains and a strong smell. Some areas of the service required deep cleaning to control infection risks. Audit systems were in place. The audits were not always robust enough to highlight and manage shortfalls and areas for improvement in the service. People gave us mixed feedback about the staffing levels. The training matrix showed that most staff had completed mandatory training, however staff had not all completed training relevant to people’s additional health needs. The service worked with other health professionals involved in people’s care. People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

Updated 21 August 2025

We carried out a short observational framework for inspection (SOFI) and observed staff engaging with people in a kind and patient way. SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We observed some kind and caring interactions between staff and people. Staff treated people with kindness and knew people well. Staff spent time with people encouraging them to participate in activities and maintain important relationships with their families and friends. People had opportunities to go out into the community, the service had just purchased a minibus to enable people to get out. Relatives felt involved and told us communication was good. People were supported to have visits from religious ministers/clergy if this was their wish. Most people at the service we not able to provide us detailed feedback about their care and treatment because they were living with dementia and other health conditions. However, some people were able to provide feedback. Their feedback was mixed. Comments included, “Staff communicate at me, not with me”; “Yes, there’s enough staff”; “I’ve got no great problem here”; “They know you and the care you need” and “They keep it clean. They’re a good team.” Relatives told us, “Staff use gestures and understand some of the gestures that she uses so she can make some decisions herself”; “If I have a problem I can go to the staff and they usually know the answer”; “I love that it’s like a big family, they are (staff) always talking to them” and “The care is brilliant, dad likes to be liked"