St Agnells House

Updated 23 February 2021

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 04 February 2021 and was unannounced.

Updated 23 February 2021

This inspection was carried out on 23 January 2018 and was unannounced. At their last inspection on 7 October 2016, they were found to be meeting the standards we inspected. At this inspection we found that they had continued to meet all the standards.

St Agnells House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

St Agnells House provides accommodation for up to eight people with learning and physical disabilities. The home is not registered to provide nursing care. At the time of the inspection there were eight people living there.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

The service has a manager who was registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they felt safe at the home and they liked the way staff supported them to live the life they wanted. Relatives told us they were happy how people were looked after and they felt the service was safe and met peoples` needs.

People were involved in developing their care and support plans and relatives where appropriate were invited to participate in developing and reviewing people`s care and support plans.

Relatives and staff told us there were enough staff to meet peoples` needs and support them with the activities they chose to do.

People lived an active life and had been provided with opportunities to pursue their hobbies and interests including going away on holidays.

People were supported by staff who were trained and received regular supervision. People were encouraged to eat a healthy, balanced diet and there was access to healthcare professionals when needed. Staff understood the importance of giving people choice and listening to their views and opinions. However staff needed more training to fully understand the principles of the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

The design and layout of the building met the needs of people who lived at the service, however the environment needed some redecoration and windows and high ceiling beams needed cleaning.

Staff felt supported by the registered manager and they told us that recent changes in the management structure impacted positively on staff`s morale bringing and motivated them to work as a team.

People’s personal care records were kept securely to ensure unauthorised people did not have access to them. Staff spoke to people in a kind, patient and friendly way and people were treated in a dignified manner. Staff consistently ensured people’s social needs were met, and people felt staff listened to them and valued their views.

There was a complaints process available and people were asked for their views at meetings. In addition relatives told us they were regularly asked to give feedback about the service and they felt positive about how the home was managed.

The registered manager was passionate about providing the best possible support for people and they actively supported people and staff to achieve this. There were quality assurance systems in place which were used effectively to identify any areas in need of improvement. Actions were taken to improve the quality of the care people received when it was necessary.