Background to this inspection
Updated
29 July 2021
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.
Inspection team
This inspection visit was carried out by two inspectors. A third inspector made telephone calls to relatives.
Service and service type
St Marys Residential Home 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. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. They and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection-
We spoke with five people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, senior care workers and care workers
We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We spoke with six relatives. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.
Updated
29 July 2021
About the service
St Mary’s Residential Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to 27 older people some whom are living with dementia at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 29 people.
The service provides accommodation over two floors with a lift and stairs available to access the upper floor. There are two lounges and a dining room as well as a number of communal bathrooms and toilets.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The registered manager had made improvements to the overall running of the service.
People living at St Marys Residential Home received care from a staff team who were caring and ensured people needs were met in a timely manner. One relative said, “St Mary's is a very nice place, comfortable, clean, I think it very nice, I wouldn't mind being there myself.”
Staff delivered care and support that was personalised. Staff were kind, caring and motivated and people and their relatives were complimentary about the care provided. Staff respected people’s privacy, dignity and independence and encouraged people to be as independent as possible.
Systems ensured that people's risks were well managed, and lessons were learnt when things went wrong. People and staff could approach the registered manager who acted on concerns raised to make improvements to people's care. A relative told us, “I am certain [family member] is safe, the staff are looking after her, make sure that everything is locked and sealed, and they cannot get out of the place (for their safety).”
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 27 April 2020).
The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.
At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about people’s privacy, dignity and choice. We also checked they had followed their action plan from the previous inspection and to confirm they now met legal requirements. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, caring and well-led only.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe section of this full report
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.