Archived: St Mary's

Updated 21 March 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type:

St Mary’s 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.

At the time of the inspection the service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that 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:

Inspection site visit activity started on 28 January and ended on 29 January. The first day was unannounced and the second day announced.

What we did:

Before the inspection we checked information that we already had about the service. We looked at notifications from the provider. Notifications are specific events that the provider is required to tell us by law. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. Due to technical problems, the provider was not able to complete a Provider Information Return. 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.

During the inspection we spoke with four people using the service, three relatives and two professionals. We spoke with five members of staff, including the manager. We reviewed staff training records, three people's care records, medicines records and records related to the management of the service.

Updated 21 March 2019

About the service: St Mary’s is a residential care home providing personal care accommodation for up to 47 people, aged 65 and over. At the time of the inspection 29 people were living at the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

The provider had systems in place to safeguard people from abuse. Staff could recognise and report any safeguarding concerns if they suspected abuse. Relevant risk assessments had been completed. Medicines were managed safely. Accidents and incidents were monitored to identify and address any patterns or trends to reduce the risk of future harm.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk.

People were supported by appropriate numbers of consistent staff who knew them well. Staff recruitment was safe and staff had completed relevant training, received regular supervision and annual appraisals and people were confident in staff skills and knowledge to deliver care and support people in a person-centred way.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Relevant mental capacity assessments had been completed. Staff gained consent before delivering care tasks and ensured people could make their own decisions and choices.

A variety of meals were provided to ensure people’s dietary needs were met. Assessments were seen which demonstrated relevant health professionals were involved in the care provided to people.

Care provided to people respected their privacy, dignity and promoted their independence. Staff knew people's needs well. We observed staff interacting with people and found they were kind and caring. Staff knew people well and responded to their needs in an understanding way.

Care plans had been completed and were regularly reviewed. These contained relevant information about how to meet people's needs. The activities coordinator was employed to ensure the activities provided by the service met people's individual needs. Where appropriate, plans were in place to ensure people's end of life wishes were taken into account and respected.

People knew how to raise a complaint and were confident their concerns would be addressed. Complaints were addressed in line with the provider's policy and procedure. Where complaints had been received, information had been used to improve the quality of the service.

There was an open culture within the service, where people and staff could approach the manager, who acted on concerns to make improvements to people's care.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection the service was rated good (published 16 September 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner