National inspectors praise OUTSTANDING local care home

Home news

Oct 09, 2020

A national care watchdog has given a care home in Godalming its seal of approval, with relatives and residents praising its compassionate and caring team members.

The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) report gave Care UK’s Jubilee House, on Pound Lane, an overall ‘Outstanding’ rating, following an unannounced inspection prior to lockdown.

The care home was rated ‘Outstanding’ in three categories, including being responsive, caring and well-led.

Residents and relatives told the CQC inspectors that they felt the team members were extremely caring and compassionate. One resident said, "The team members are lovely." Another said, "The team here are wonderful, I absolutely adore them. They're all angels to me. They've got a sense of humour which is needed."

Inspectors also noted that the team went above and beyond to provide care and support for residents. Prior to the pandemic, one resident in particular enjoyed weekly days out, which included trips to visit a relative that worked locally. The relative said, "Team members will pop her over to me as I work locally. It means so much to us both."

The report highlighted that life story books were in resident’s rooms to provide team members with background information for each individual. A team member said, "I speak to the resident about her life travelling. She has photos of her all around the world in her room, so we can speak for ages about them and she tells me little stories about them all."

Where residents had expressed a particular interest in an activity, the team did whatever they could to accommodate this. There is a 'Wishing Tree' at the care home where residents can ask for an activity that is meaningful to them. One resident had a passion for riding motorbikes in his younger years, and the team organised for him to visit Harley Davidson Centre.

Team members also made sure residents were treated as individuals and they respected their diversities. One resident said that they missed India, where they had lived in their younger years. The team arranged for the garden to be decorated in an Indian theme and Indian food was prepared. The relatives fed back: “Her memories often take her back to that happy and exotic time, so we are sure sitting under the beautifully decorated gazebo enjoying the food in the sunshine made her very happy. You all worked so hard to make it a special occasion."

The report noted that residents and their relatives were unanimous in their highly complementary feedback on the team, one relative commented: "The team members are absolutely brilliant, it blows me away" and "the team members are wonderful here…they're honestly like friends to us, or an extended family. As you can see, they are so loving and compassionate to everyone."

Relatives also highlighted that their family members are treated with dignity and respect. One relative said, "Here it's about the resident. The team’s ethos is 'you work in their home' and not the other way around."

Inspectors commended the home manager and the management team, who received high praise from residents and relatives. Comments included: “the home manager is just amazing, such a people person. The crew are only as good as their captain and that shows here. I can go to her for anything" and "the manager is grand, very nice. Her door is always open".

Totka Zhelyazkova, home manager at Jubilee House, said: “Everyone has put in a lot of hard work to ensure we offer an excellent home to all the residents, and the whole team are really proud of their achievements.

“Receiving an ‘Outstanding’ rating overall is testament to the amazing team we have here at Jubilee House. Our ethos is to help residents to continue living active and fulfilling lives, and it is what we aim to do day in, day out. Over the last few months this has been more important than ever as we adapt to a new way of life, while ensuring residents lives remain as normal as possible.

“We are all thrilled to have received this official praise from the national inspectors.”

To assess service standards at Jubilee House, the CQC’s inspector spoke with team members, residents, and their visiting relatives on the day of the inspection (prior to lockdown restrictions coming into effect). They also reviewed the records and procedures already in place at the care home.

For more information about Jubilee House please call customer relations manager, Jonathan Fahy, on 0333 4343 045 or email jonathan.fahy@careuk.com

For more general information about Jubilee House, please visit careuk.com/jubilee-house