Fishbourne mental health care home wants to employ more staff

Choice Care Group opened its first West Sussex-based mental health home on Main Road, Fishbourne, in April.

Spencer Place is a two-storey home that provides care and support 24/7 for ten adult males, primarily with mental health needs such as Bipolar disorder, Schizophrenia, Personality Disorder but also other conditions such as Autism.

The wheelchair-friendly home has two lounges, a dining room, an office, a meeting room, a kitchen, a laundry room and an additional bathroom. There are also outside garden areas for socialising and leisure activities.

Registered manager, Anne Jeram, said: “There are currently five service-users at the home.

“We are letting in one a month, just to get on our feet.

“We’ve got 11 members of staff. There are ten beds, with two annexes outside.

“As we grow, we need more staff.

“We are advertising but, at the moment, everywhere is struggling for staff.”

Working alongside the mental health team at West Sussex County Council, the job of the care home staff is to help patients re-learn vital life skills.

Ms Jeram added: “They will usually come on a transition period.

“They still get the help that they need, with access to all doctors and dentists off site.

“They can start learning a few more life skills with us. They cooking for themselves and can go out by themselves.

“When we think they are ready, they can move onto the community.”

Ms Jeram said the location, just off the A27, was chosen by the county council.

She said the was a vital need for a mental health care home in the area as there are ‘so many people sat in hospital that don’t need to be there’.

“They are ready to be discharged as part of their rehab,” Ms Jeram added.

“They were blocking beds for people who did need to be there.”

Ms Jeram said staff ‘want to be more involved with the community’, and asked if local businesses could offer voluntary work to patients.

She added that there are plans to build new mental health care homes, in West Sussex, in the future.

If you are interested in working at Spencer Place, you can call 01243 783518 or apply online at www.choicecaregroup.com/view/spencer-place