St Joseph's

St Joseph's is a residential care home, providing personal care and accommodation for up to 59 people. It provides care to older people, some of whom have dementia. Care is provided on four 'wings', known as Jade, Ruby, Topaz and Pearl, across two floors. Short stay 'respite' care is also available. Each 'wing' has a communal lounge, dining area and kitchenette. There are also spacious communal conservatories. The home has secure gardens people can access. At the time of our inspection visit 54 people lived at the home.

St Joseph's is part of Father Hudson's Care, which is the social care agency of the Catholic Archdiocese for Birmingham, a registered charity. The home has it's own Chapel and offers daily Mass for those wishing to attend.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

There were enough staff to provide safe and effective care. The registered manager reviewed staffing levels with senior staff to ensure they accurately reflected people’s needs. Staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities and people and their relatives felt the care provided at St Joseph’s was safe.

Risks to people’s health and well-being had been identified and thoroughly assessed. Records contained very detailed information on how staff should mitigate risks to people’s physical and emotional health and how to identify any deterioration in their medical conditions. Medicines were ordered, stored and disposed of correctly and administered by staff who had been trained and assessed as competent in safe medicines practice.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The provider and registered manager had systems and processes in place to audit the quality of the services provided. The management team were knowledgeable and familiar with the needs of the people they supported, and staff spoke of a positive culture which motivated them to deliver person centred care. Relatives told us communication was good and they felt able to share feedback and ideas.

Managers and senior staff promoted a culture of honesty and learning from mistakes. Accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns were reviewed to identify any organisational learning. Healthcare professionals spoke positively about the working relationships they had developed with the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 8 August 2019).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service which indicated improvements had been made since our last inspection. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for St Joseph’s on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

St Joseph’s is a residential care home, providing personal care and accommodation for up to 59 people. It provides care to older frail people, some of whom are living with dementia. Care is provided on four ‘wings’, known as Jade, Ruby, Topaz and Pearl, across two floors. Short stay ‘respite’ care is also available. Each ‘wing’ has a communal lounge, dining area and kitchenette. There are also spacious communal conservatories. The home has secure gardens people can access. At the time of our inspection visit 56 people lived at the home.

St Joseph’s is part of Father Hudson’s Care, which is the social care agency of the Catholic Archdiocese for Birmingham, a registered charity. The home has it’s own Chapel and offers daily Mass for those wishing to attend.

People's experience of using this service and what we found

Staff knew people well and how to protect them from risks of harm or injury, such as falls. Risk management plans gave staff the information they needed to keep people safe. People had their prescribed medicine available to them. However, staff had not always followed manufacturer’s guidance when people had their medicines through a skin patch.

Staff did not always complete important records related to people’s food and fluid intake, and information recorded was not always accurate. The home was clean and tidy, and staff had been trained on how to prevent risks of cross infection.

There were sufficient staff on shift. Some staff felt night time staffing was low and the registered manager was assessing this to determine if a further night staff was required. Staff received an induction, training and support from within the staff team, and managers. Staff were trained in how to protect people from the risks of abuse. Further training was planned for staff where the registered manager had identified knowledge needed to be increased and refreshed.

People had their needs assessed before they moved into the home. People had plans of care relevant to their needs. Staff could also access a ‘snapshot’ overview of people’s needs which gave clear information. People had opportunities to engage in group activities. People could pursue their own interests and hobbies if they wished to. People’s pastoral care needs were met.

People had access to healthcare when required. On the day of our inspection we saw people were offered enough food and drink to meet their dietary requirements. Choices were available and additional snacks were offered.

Positive caring interactions took place between people and staff, and people felt well cared for. People made day to day decisions about their care and were supported by staff who worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Mental capacity assessments had been completed for people.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Systems were in place for people to give their feedback on the service. People and relatives were happy with the services. People did not have any complaints.

The provider had recognised a staffing restructure had been needed to improve staff deployment in the home. This had been completed and needed to be embedded and improvements sustained.

Since our last inspection, improvements had been made to meet the requirements of the regulations. The provider’s quality assurance system identified where further improvements were needed, and a service improvement plan was shared with us detailing the provider’s timescale for implementing these.

The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 12 September 2018) and there were breaches of the regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

The service remains rated Requires Improvement. The service has been rated Requires Improvement for the last two consecutive inspections.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the rating of the last inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

St Joseph’s is part of Father Hudson’s Care, which is the social care agency of the Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, a registered charity. St Joseph’s provides accommodation with personal care and support for up to 59 adults. St Joseph’s specialises in care for people living with types of dementia and is divided into four ‘wings;’ Pearl, Topaz, Jade and Ruby. Short stay care (respite) is offered by the home. At the time of this inspection, 47 people were living at the home.

A requirement of the services’ registration with us is that they have a registered manager. 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. The previous manager had de-registered with us in June 2018 and, at the time of our inspection visit, the new manager, who came into post in July 2018, was in the process of applying to become registered with us.

We last inspected this service on 4 February 2016 and gave an overall rating of ‘Good.’ However, we had found people did not consistently receive a safe service and rated the safety of the service as ‘Requires Improvement’.

As a part of this inspection, we looked to see whether the provider had made the necessary improvements. Overall, they had not and we found two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The safety and how well led the service was required improvements. The overall rating for the service has changed to Requires Improvement.

Actions to mitigate risks to people had not always been taken by the provider. Some first-floor bedroom windows opened to arm’s length which posed potential risks of serious injury to people. People did not have individual personal emergency evacuation plans to say how they should be supported in the event of an emergency.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service people received, but these were not always effective.

There were sufficient trained staff on shift who had been recruited in a safe way so as to ensure people were not placed at risk of abuse, harm or injury.

Individual risk management plan, such as preventing people getting sore skin, described actions for staff to take so that risks of harm or injury were mitigated. However, actions to mitigate risks were not always followed by staff.

Medicines were stored and handled safely. People had their prescribed medicines available to them. Some medicine recording errors had occurred and whilst these were addressed by staff, medicine audit information lacked detail.

Staff on shift met people’s individual needs. People were able to take part in activities and received good pastoral care. Staff worked in liaison with visiting healthcare professionals in meeting people’s health and care needs.

Staff received training and, overall, used their skills, knowledge and experience to provide effective and responsive care to people.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

St Joseph’s is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 60 older people. The service is provided across four ‘wings’ over two floors. At the time of our inspection visit there were 59 people living there.

The service had a registered manager. 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.

People were comfortable with the staff who supported them and relatives were confident people were safe living in the home. Staff received training in how to safeguard people from abuse and understood what action they should take in order to protect people from harm. However, recordings they were expected to make when raising safeguarding concerns had not always been completed. Risks to people’s safety were identified, minimised and flexed towards individual needs so people could be supported in the least restrictive way possible and build their independence. However, risk assessments were not always up to date and checks had not identified this.

People were supported with their medicines by staff who were trained and assessed as competent to give medicines safely. Medicines were given in a timely way and as prescribed. Regular checks designed to ensure medicines were administered safely had not always identified gaps in people’s medication records.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs effectively. The provider conducted pre-employment checks prior to staff starting work, to ensure their suitability to support people who lived in the home. Staff told us they were not able to work until these checks had been completed.

The provider ensured staff had information on the level of support people needed with decision-making so people were protected. Staff and the registered manager had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act, and the need to seek informed consent from people before delivering care and support. Where restrictions were in place, legal processes had been followed to ensure they were in people’s ‘best interests’, and applications for legal authorisation had been sent to the relevant authorities.

Staff were respectful and treated people with dignity and respect. We observed this in interactions between people, and records confirmed how people’s privacy and dignity was maintained. People were supported to make choices about their day to day lives and to maintain any activities, interests and relationships that were important to them.

People had access to health professionals when needed and we saw the care and support provided in the home was in line with what had been recommended. Health professionals told us they were confident the provider managed people’s health effectively. People’s care records were written in a way which helped staff to deliver personalised care and gave staff information about people’s communication, their likes, dislikes and preferences. People were involved in how their care and support was delivered as much as possible. Where people were unable to communicate their views, staff talked to people’s families or their representatives to ensure people’s care was appropriate to their needs.

Relatives told us they felt able to raise any concerns with the registered manager. They felt these would be listened to and responded to effectively and in a timely way. Staff told us the management team were approachable and responsive to their ideas and suggestions. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the support provided in the home. However, these systems had not always worked as intended. Gaps and inconsistencies in record keeping had not been identified.

Some people were unable to share their experiences of living at St Joseph's so we spent time with them in communal areas to observe their care and support.

People told us that staff respected their privacy and dignity and they confirmed they were involved in the way their care was provided. A visiting family member told us, 'People are always treated with respect here. The staff are very caring.'

People and a visiting family member told us they were happy with the care and support provided. One person said, 'They look after us very well.' A visiting family member commented, 'Definitely, this is a very good home.'

Staff knew about the needs of the people they were caring for. We looked at care records for four people and found that these contained guidance for staff on how to meet their needs. We saw that people's needs were reviewed regularly.

Staff told us they received excellent support from the management team. A staff member told us, 'The door is always open to chat with a manager if you have any questions.'

Our observations throughout the inspection demonstrated that staff engaged in a positive way with people. We saw when people needed assistance staff were on hand to help them.