Archived: St Edmunds Residential Home

Updated 20 March 2015

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 03 December 2014 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Prior to our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. This included information we had received and any statutory notifications that had been sent to us. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We asked the provider to send us some information prior to the inspection and this was received. The provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and the improvements they plan to make.

On the day we visited the service, we spoke with 15 people living at the service, six relatives and eight staff. We spoke with the cook, manager, assistant manager and a company director. We observed how care and support was provided to people. To do this, we used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not communicate easily with us.

We looked at eight people’s care plans, four staff recruitment files, two staff supervision files, four staff training records, records relating to the maintenance of the premises and equipment, four medication records and records relating to how the service monitored staffing levels and the quality of the service. After the inspection we telephoned a social care professional for their feedback on the service.

Updated 20 March 2015

This inspection took place on 03 December 2014 and was unannounced.

St Edmunds Residential Home is a care service that provides accommodation, care and support for up to 39 older people, some of who are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection, there were 37 people living at St Edmunds Residential Home. The provider, St Edmunds Limited, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Eastern Healthcare Limited.

There has not been a registered manager at the service for over six months. However, a manager is in post and they had taken action to apply to be the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (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.

The new manager and provider were taking action to make certain that people living at the service were well cared for and the records and systems used in the home were complete and up to date.

Adequate staffing levels were in place to meet people’s needs and staff absence was covered. Staff used a friendly and thoughtful approach when talking with and assisting people and treated them with respect. People were able to raise their concerns, felt safe at the home and received their care from compassionate and competent staff.

Staff had completed training and knew how to make sure that people were safe and protected from abuse. Increased training had been provided and planned for staff to make sure they had suitable opportunities to develop the skills and knowledge they needed to carry out their role. Recruitment checks were being carried out to make certain they were complete and that the staff employed continued to be suitable to care for older people.

People had their needs met and they and their relative were consulted and involved in discussions about the care and support they wished to receive. Reviews of the care plans held for each person were taking place to ensure they contained accurate information and were personalised. Each person was encouraged to maintain their independence and had access to healthcare professionals when they became unwell. Arrangements were being made to increase the range of activities provided for people. Medicines were available for people to take when they needed them, were stored securely and had been accurately recorded when administered.

The new management team had taken action to introduce themselves to people living, visiting and working at the home. People’s concerns were listened to and were dealt with and resolved as quickly as possible. People had been given increased opportunities to raise their concerns and their suggestions for improvements within the service had been listened to by the provider and manager. Plans were in place for regular meetings to be held to discuss the improvements needed and planned within the service.

Staff were involved in discussions when changes in care practice were needed. A new audit system was being introduced to monitor how well the home was being run and to check that people received the care and support they needed. Regular checks had started to be made on the way staff worked, the records held and the maintenance of the premises.

The policies and procedures currently in place were being reviewed and replaced with those used by the new provider. CQC monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards which applies to all care services. Plans were in place for staff to complete this training. People’s capacity to make decisions for themselves about their care was being assessed and the manager knew when to liaise with the supervisory body, about making an application, when a person was at risk of having their liberty restricted or deprived.