St Michaels

Updated 6 January 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 18 December 2020 and was announced.

Updated 6 January 2021

About the service

St Michaels is a residential care home providing personal care to 42 people at the time of the inspection. It accommodates up to 45 people in one adapted building. Accommodation is split over two floors

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Improvements were required to ensure there were effective systems in place to pick up any issues that needed rectifying.

People received safe and effective care from staff who had been trained and supported and knew how to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm. Staff knew people’s risks and how to minimise them whilst still promoting independence and choice.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and people got their medicines when they needed them.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People enjoyed the food on offer and had choices about when and what to eat. They had access to healthcare professionals and staff worked well together and with others to meet people’s needs effectively.

People were treated with kindness and compassion by staff know who knew them well and had regard for their wellbeing. People had choices and were encouraged and supported to make their own decisions and spend their time how they chose. Independence was respected and promoted.

People had access to meaningful activities that they enjoyed and received personalised care that met their individual needs.

We have made a recommendation about end of life care.

The management team were approachable and supportive and involved people and staff in the development of the home.

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 (report published 10 August 2018) and there were two breaches of regulation. 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

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating and to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

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.