Enter and view: Mosely Hospital, Juniper Centre - Rosemary Ward

Healthwatch Birmingham conducted an Enter and View visit to the Rosemary Ward of Mosely Hospital's Juniper Centre on 28 May 2014.

The Juniper Centre was opened in 2010 and was purpose built and designed as a key component of the Trust’s Mental Health Service for Older People. The Rosemary Ward is an 18 bed acute ward for women with organic disorders. As part of the Mental Health Services for Older People (MHSOP) it takes patients from across Birmingham and Solihull. In addition it can admit patients diagnosed with Rare Dementias (previously referred to as Working Age Dementias) below the age of 65 years.

The Enter and View Authorised Representatives found that the Ward was clean and well decorated, in a good state of repair with non-skid flooring. All the bedrooms are single and ensuite. The walls around the bedroom doors are painted a different colour and that colour is reproduced on the bedroom walls as a memory aid for patients. Patients’ names are on their bedroom doors along with that of their named nurse. There is also a photo of the named nurse with their name on a notice board in each bedroom.

The visiting team reported that their overriding impression was of how much the staff were tuned into the patients. They were constantly alert to any signs of distress or agitation. They did not talk “around” people but directly to them, which could be difficult but often is more effective. It was observed that there always seemed to be staff available to check on people if they heard raised voices or if they had concerns about an individual.

There was only one suggestion for improving the patient experience which was related to the small size of the dining room, especially when considering the number mobility aids that were used by patients. The provider response acknowledges the issue and advises of the mitigation in place to work around this.