Living in St John's
The care and support that St. John’s Hospital offers is different to that provided in other local almshouse, sheltered housing and extra care accommodation.
At St. John’s, there are Care and Support Staff on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week working on a rota basis. They provide not only traditional housing support to all the almshouse residents, such as daily welfare visits and any emergency response, but also personal care to those with an assessed need.
St. John’s Hospital is registered as a Domiciliary Care Provider with the Care Quality Commission. This means that we have to meet certain standards of care and that our Care Staff are trained to the required level. St. John’s has an excellent staff retention record and is rightly proud of this and staff training achievements, which are well above the national average and statutory requirements.
St John's offers a dedicated team of Care Staff on site.
In St John’s city centre Almshouses and at Combe Park, the modern purpose-built complex near Bath’s Royal United Hospital in Weston, residents are meant to be relatively independent. Applications can be accepted from those over the age of 65, who live in Bath and who are in financial need. However, the average age of those who live in the city centre is 83 and at Combe Park, it is 74. Understandably, there is a range of dependency levels, from those who are totally independent to those who need more support, such as shopping and collection of prescriptions, to those who need help with personal care in the form of assistance with bathing, medication and meal preparation. In addition, if a resident becomes ill, St John’s offers support with other tasks. In the event of terminal illness, the Care Team endeavours to enable the resident to remain in their flat for as long as possible, with the appropriate support from both St John’s staff and from outside agencies.
The provision of 24 hour/7 days a week ‘in-house’ team cover is exceptional, as it is private, free, flexible and not constrained by Social Service funding.
'Flexercise' class, one of many enjoyable activities and pursuits available at St John's.
As St. John’s aims to provide a comprehensive service to its residents, it also employs a dedicated Activities Co-ordinator who continually works with residents to ensure that the activities meet their needs and keeps them active and healthy in mind and body. St. John’s prides itself on the diverse range of activities and variety of events that are available to all residents. These include monthly shopping trips, pub lunches and longer outings, as well as hobby clubs, classes and pursuits such as ‘flexercise’, art, croquet and Tai Chi.
Residents at St. John’s Hospital enjoy an independent lifestyle within a secure environment, knowing that care and support are available, free of charge, from the dedicated team of Care Staff on site. The staff and support teams are there if and when they need it.