Archived: St Vincents Care Home

Updated 8 December 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider was 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.

The inspection was unannounced and was carried out on 19 October 2017 by one inspector, who was joined by a second inspector on 23 October 2017.

Before the inspection, 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. We reviewed the information in the PIR, along with other information that we held about the service including previous inspection reports and notifications. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send us by law.

We spoke with six people using the service and a relative of one of the people living at the home. We observed care and support being delivered in communal areas of the home. We spoke with six members of the staff, the estates manager, care manager, a kitchen hand, the cook, the finance and admin officer and the registered manager. We also spoke with a visiting health professional and received feedback about the home from two other health professionals.

We looked at care plans and associated records for seven people using the service, staff duty records and other records related to the running of the service, such as, recruitment files, records of complaints, accidents and incidents, policies and procedures and quality assurance records.

The home was previously inspected in June 2015 when it was rated good.

Updated 8 December 2017

St Vincents Care Home is a privately run care home registered to provide accommodation for up to 25 older people. The home is run by the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen’s Families Association (SSAFA) and provides support to ex-servicemen and ex-service women. At the time of our inspection there were 22 people living in the home. The inspection was unannounced and was carried out on the 19 and 23 October 2017.

There was a registered manager in place at the home. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the home. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the home is run.

The risks relating to people’s care and treatment were not always identified and managed effectively.

Although, medicines were administered by staff who had received appropriate training and assessments they were not always managed safely and best practice guidance was not always followed.

Staff sought consent from people before providing care. However, people’s ability to make decisions was not always assessed in line with legislation designed to protect people’s rights. People were deprived of their liberty without the appropriate authority being in place.

There were systems in place to monitor quality and safety of the home provided, however, these were not robust and did not identify the concerns we identified during this inspection. People’s records were not always up to date and did not always reflect people’s needs.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and to enable them to engage with people in a relaxed and unhurried manner. However, the recruiting practices was not robust and did not always ensure that a full employment history for new staff was available or a written explanation for any gaps.

People were supported by staff who had received an induction into the home and appropriate training, professional development and supervision to enable them to meet people’s individual needs.

People told us they felt the home was safe. Staff and the registered manager had received safeguarding training and were able to demonstrate an understanding of the provider’s safeguarding policy and explain the action they would take if they identified any concerns. Accidents and incidents were monitored, analysed and remedial actions identified to reduce the risk of reoccurrence.

Staff developed caring and positive relationships with people and were sensitive to their individual communication styles, choices and treated them with dignity and respect. People were encouraged to remain as independent as possible and maintain relationships that were important to them.

People were supported to have enough to eat and drink. Mealtimes were a social event and staff encouraged people, when necessary in a patient and friendly manner.

People and when appropriate their families were involved in discussions about their care planning,

There was an opportunity for people and their families to become involved in developing the service. They were encouraged to provide feedback on the service through residents meetings and an annual survey. They were also supported to raise complaints should they wish to.

People told us that they felt the home was well led and were positive about the registered manager who understood the responsibilities of their role. The provider was fully engaged in running the home and provided regular support to the registered manager. Staff were aware of the provider’s vision and values, how they related to their work and spoke positively about the culture and management of the home.

We found four breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.