Archived: St Teresa's Home for the Elderly

Updated 13 March 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service including a Provider Inspection Return (PIR) and any statutory notifications. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us. A PIR is information that the provider is required to send to us, which gives us some key information about the service and tells us what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make.

Our first day of inspection was unannounced and both visits were carried out by one inspector.

During the inspection we spoke with 12 people who used the service, three relatives of people using the service, four staff members, the office manager, the care home director and the registered manager. We looked at three people’s care and support records. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service including staff training and recruitment, medicine administration and quality assurance checks. We received feedback from one external health and social care professional during our visits.

Updated 13 March 2018

St Teresa’s Home for the Elderly is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. There were 25 people using the service at the time of our inspection.

A registered manager was in post at the time of this 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.

This inspection visit took place on 18 and 24 January 2018. Our first visit was unannounced. This meant the service did not know we would be visiting. The last inspection of St Teresa’s took place in December 2015 when we found the service was meeting legal requirements.

The service was exceptionally caring. People using the service told us they were treated in a kind and caring manner by staff who knew them well. People and their relatives commended the quality of the care they received. They said that St Teresa’s had a warm, caring and compassionate approach underpinned by a strong Christian ethos.

People were supported to stay safe by the systems and practices in the home. Any identified risks to people were assessed and checks of the home environment and the equipment in use regularly took place.

People were supported to take their medicines safely and as prescribed. They had good access to external health services such as the GP and were supported to stay healthy. People said they liked the food provided to them. They were given choice and could eat the meals they enjoyed.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. A consistent established core team of staff provided continuity of care to the people staying there.

Individual care and support needs were fully assessed, documented and reviewed at regular intervals. Care plans reflected people’s whole lives and helped staff to deliver personalised care. The service was particularly skilled at helping people and their families or carers to explore and record their wishes about care at the end of their life.

People were supported by staff who were trained and well supported in their job roles. Staff members had been safely recruited and had received an induction to the service. They had received training around safeguarding vulnerable people and knew what action to take if they had or received a concern.

Staff we spoke with were confident of the service provided to people and said they would recommend St Teresa’s to others. Staff said they felt valued and had access to supervision and additional support when required.

People and their relatives felt able to raise any concerns or complaints. There was a procedure in place for people to follow if they wanted to raise any issues. Staff also said they felt comfortable in raising any concerns should they have any.

The service understood and complied with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Staff worked in people’s best interests and understood the importance of gaining people’s consent before assisting them.

The service was well led. The registered manager and her team monitored the quality of the service and made changes to improve the service provided when required. People who used the service and their relatives found the management team to be caring, approachable and responsive.