This unannounced inspection took place on 30 October and 22 November 2017. This was the first ratings inspection for this registered provider Anchor Trust. Registration of Anchor Trust began on 6 February 2017.

St Josephs 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. St Josephs can accommodate up to 60 people in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection 55 people were resident. One part of the home specialises in providing care to people living with dementia. This was known as Gainsborough.

There was a registered manager in post and present throughout the two days of 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.

St Josephs had grown to be an all-round good service that had responded well to our feedback. An example of this was the new provider making adaptations to the building and installing a shaft lift to ensure all areas of the home were accessible to people.

People consistently reported to us that the service staff listened to them and responded appropriately to meet their needs. People felt involved and consulted. People received a care service that assessed their needs and responded with good care planning and risk assessments in place that staff followed. There was good planning for all stages of people’s lives including events such as returning from hospital and end of life care. People told us that there were sufficient staff, that were kind, helpful and considerate to them. People were provided with healthy nutritious meals that they liked and chose. They had access to healthcare and had consented to care being provided. There was an interesting variety of activities, access to the community and day time pursuits available to people.

Staff spoke about the positive cultural changes that have come about under the new provider Anchor Trust. They were very satisfied with the management team within the home and the support given to them. Staff had received an extensive amount of training and support to up skill them. There were sufficient staff of all designations working within the home who had access to the wider management support within Anchor including a dementia specialist.

There was good oversight with the home. There were systems in place to monitor and check the quality of service on offer that was fed up the wider organisation. There was a culture of learning from events and good working relationships with other professionals external to the home.