OSJCT Athelstan House

Updated 27 June 2025

Date of assessment: 16 to 17 July 2025. OSJCT Athelstan House is a residential care home providing regulated activities accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care and treatment of disease, disorder or injury to up to 80 people. The service supports people with dementia and older and younger adults. At the time of this assessment there were 72 people using the service. This assessment was carried out to follow up on a breach of regulation for person-centred care. At this assessment we found people were receiving care that was person-centred, so the service is no longer in breach of regulations.

Since the last inspection we found care delivery had improved. We observed staff interacting with people in a person-centred way. Staff knew people’s needs and had time to interact with people in a relaxed manner. Activities for people had been planned and were provided in various areas around the service. During our assessment we observed local clergy visiting to provide people with communion. People were seen to be involved in light domestic tasks which they wanted to do, and we saw people enjoying the garden.

People had their medicines as prescribed. Systems were effective in making sure medicines were ordered, stored and administered safely. People had access to healthcare professionals when needed. Feedback from healthcare professionals about staff, management and care provided was positive.

Staff had been recruited safely. Pre-employment checks had been completed, and staff were provided with a good induction when starting work. Staff received refresher training as needed and had support from managers through processes such as supervision and staff meetings. We observed there were enough staff available to safely meet people’s needs.

The home was clean. We observed staff working safely, following infection prevention and control guidelines. Premises and equipment were regularly serviced and checked for safety by external contractors. In addition, a team of maintenance staff was employed to help carry out health and safety checks.

Risks to people’s safety were identified and assessed. People’s individual care plans gave staff comprehensive information on how to provide safe and effective support. Any monitoring people needed had been recorded in daily care records. There was a ‘resident of the day’ process which helped senior staff regularly review care plans.

There was a stable management team at the service who were all very experienced working in this type of service. Feedback about them from people, relatives, staff and professionals was very positive. Management was approachable, inclusive and actively supported staff to develop their knowledge and skills.

Governance systems were very effective in identifying areas to improve. There was a service improvement plan which monitored actions for improvement and timescales for completion. The provider had regular checks to monitor management actions. A regional manager visited the service regularly to carry out various checks on quality and safety.

Updated 27 June 2025

People had their own rooms and were able to personalise them with their own belongings and personal items such as pictures and photographs. Staff respected people’s privacy by knocking on doors and waiting to be invited into their room. People also had notices which could be placed on door handles informing visitors and staff if they did not want to be disturbed.

People told us they enjoyed the food and had choice at all mealtimes. We observed mealtimes across the service and found them to be inclusive and unhurried. People could eat where they wished, for example, in their rooms or the communal dining areas. People and relatives described staff as being kind and caring. Feedback from healthcare professionals also praised the staff for having a compassionate approach. We observed staff communicating with people effectively and taking time to understand people’s needs and wishes.

People and relatives told us visiting was encouraged without any restrictions and we found people had visitors during evenings and at weekends. However, some relatives had found they had to wait to be admitted for longer periods on a weekend. In response to this feedback additional administrative staff had been recruited to make sure reception was staffed at a weekend.

People and relatives spoke positively about the care provided. People were happy to be involved in their care planning and felt able to share their views. Relatives told us they found management were approachable and they felt able to share any concerns. Many said they would recommend the service to other people.