The Care Quality Commission
  • Care Home
  • Care home

Archived: St Claires

St Claires residential home, 38-40 Church Crescent, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 5JE (01727) 762386

Provided and run by:
Hightown Housing Association Limited

All Inspections

19 December 2013

During an inspection in response to concerns

We inspected St. Claires after receiving information of concern about the safeguarding of people from financial abuse. We reviewed the policies and procedures at the home. We looked at the steps the provider had taken to safeguard people against the risk of abuse and found that the provider was meeting the standards required for safeguarding.

People we spoke to told us that it was 'a lovely home' and that the staff were 'nice'. They told us that 'staff look after you. We saw that people were well looked after and that people had had their personal care needs met. Staff we spoke with told us they 'protect people here from any harm' and that recent changes that the provider had introduced were excellent and further protected people and staff.

9 October 2013

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We inspected St. Claires on 15 May 2013 and found that the home was not compliant with the care and welfare of people who lived in the home because they did not have sufficient staff to identify and meet the needs of the people in a person centred manner. They did not have a working call bell system in place. We also found that the home did not have an effective system in place to prevent the spread of infection.

We left compliance actions to be met by the September 2013. We inspected the home again on 09 October 2013 to confirm that the provider had taken the action needed to become compliant with the regulations.

We found that the provider had made the changes required and where permanent solutions had not been put in place interim measures were in place this ensured people were kept safe.

Staff told us that the changes that had been made enabled them to spend time with people and support them in a person centred manner. We were unable to speak with people at the service because some people had chosen to remain in their rooms or had gone out of the home for the day. We did however observe people who were unable to communicate with us.

15 May 2013

During a routine inspection

We visited St Claires on 15 May 2013, we saw that people using the service had had their personal care needs attended to. During our visit we saw that people could freely move around the home and that people were in the main kitchen preparing food while others were able to go out into the community independently. People we spoke with told us that the home supported people but encouraged them to be, ‘as independent as possible’. We were told that people using the service treated it as their home and had the confidence to inform staff if they were unhappy about anything. We were told that people who use the service had chosen their own ‘advocate to voice (any) concerns’.

During our visit to St Claires we identified areas of concern in relation to the cleanliness of the home and the welfare of people who use the service at night and during emergencies.

1 June 2012

During a routine inspection

The people we spoke with told us that together with their relatives they had been involved in deciding what support they needed to meet their needs. They also said that their privacy and dignity was respected and that the staff were helpful and supportive. The people we spoke with told us that they felt safe and that their welfare was protected. They also said that they were happy with the support and the quality of service they received.