Archived: St Anthony's Care Home

St Anthony’s is a residential care home providing personal care and support for up to five people who are living with a learning disability and/or with autism. At the time of the inspection there were four people living at the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

People who lived at St Anthony’s experienced a good quality of life. People were shown respect and treated very well with kindness and care. People were involved in decisions throughout the day. They were supported to be as independent as possible and staff invested time and patience to enable people to learn new skills. Families and friends were welcomed at the home and these important relationships were supported by staff.

People experienced safe and well managed care. People’s individual needs and personalities were well understood by the staff. The staff were both competent and effective in anticipating people’s needs and managing any risks. There were no recent accidents or incidents, although staff were aware of when to report concerns and a system was in place.

The home was a comfortable place to live and was kept very clean. People had access to a pleasant garden which they enjoyed. People were involved in meal planning and cooking and ate nutritional meals. Staff sought advice from healthcare professionals to ensure people’s health and psychological concerns were always addressed.

People’s privacy was respected and their consent was sought in the most appropriate way for each person. Staff supported people to manage their own care wherever possible and worked within the requirements of the law when acting in a person’s best interests. People knew how to do complain and were provided with information about this.

People told us about activities they had enjoyed at home and in the community. We saw photos of holidays and outings which were a highlight for people. Staff made every effort to support people to live a full and interesting life and to achieve their potential. Individual communication needs were understood and any barriers were overcome.

There was stable and consistent leadership of the home and it was evident that staff enjoyed their role. The service was well organised with clear care records and the required checks in place. The home had a relaxed and inclusive culture where people and staff enjoyed time together and lived like a family. People were connected with the local community in a natural way that benefitted them and provided new experiences.

Rating at last inspection:

The last inspection report was published in September 2016 and the service was rated as Good.

Why we inspected:

We inspected the service as part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received. This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned in line with our scheduling guidance.

The service met all legal requirements we checked at the last inspection in January 2014 and the previous year.

St. Anthony’s Care Home is registered to provide personal care and accommodation. The home provides accommodation for up to five people. Each person has their own bedroom and some have en-suite facilities.

The home had a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People receiving care were safe. Their risks had been assessed and well managed. There were procedures in place for monitoring and managing risks to people. When there were changes in the level of risk, the risk management strategies changed to reflect this.

There were appropriate procedures in place to help ensure people were protected from all forms of abuse. Staff had received training on how to identify abuse and understood procedures for safeguarding people.

Risk assessments for the environment had been drawn up and were regularly reviewed with the changing needs of the people who lived at the home in mind.

People were protected from the risks associated with the recruitment of new staff. The service followed safe recruitment practices.

People were safe because staffing levels were assessed and monitored to ensure they were sufficient to meet people’s identified needs at all times.

There were appropriate arrangements for obtaining medicines. The registered manager and senior staff regularly reviewed and audited medicines to ensure they met people’s current needs.

People were supported by staff who had the necessary skills and knowledge to meet their assessed needs, preferences and choices. The registered manager, his deputy and staff team knew people well and understood their specific care needs.

The service had had a good working partnership with primary care services. People had access to healthcare services when they needed them.

Staff sought people’s consent to care and treatment. Staff understood the relevant consent and decision-making requirements of legislation and guidance, including the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

The staff team were passionate about providing good care and routinely treated people with kindness and respect. People receiving care, relatives and professionals described the home in complimentary terms. They told us the home provided excellent care.

Staff took time to understand people's life stories and encouraged people to celebrate important life events and significant people. People were supported maintain their personal interests and hobbies.

The service looked at ways of including people in planning their care. People were encouraged to input in their care through a range of avenues, including participation in their assessments, ‘service-user meetings’, life stories, surveys and staff’s own observations.

People received care that was flexible and responsive to their individual needs and preferences. People confirmed they were involved in their care and felt listened to. Staff ensured people’s care plans matched their individual needs, abilities and preferences. People and their relatives told us they were listened to and knew how to make a complaint.

There was an effective quality assurance system in place. The registered manager and staff team were proactive in seeking out ways to improve.

Staff appeared motivated and one said they felt well supported.

We saw the home was clean and the decor was in a reasonable state. There was equipment available to ensure people's physical needs were met.

People were encouraged to make choices and to maintain their independence and staff supported them in that. We saw that people were treated as individuals and there were opportunities to take part in leisure and social activities.

Staff demonstrated a good understanding of safeguarding and the action they would take if they suspected a person was at risk of abuse.

Staff were observed to interact with people in a friendly and respectful way.

We saw that staff were communicating with people respectfully and in a way that they understood. We observed staff giving encouragement at all times throughout the day and were always talking to the people and involving them as much as possible. For example, people using the service were involved in meal and drinks preparation.

One staff member said "The people we look after are very dependant on us but we try to give them as much independence as possible."

We saw that medication was stored correctly and that all staff had received appropriate training in the dispensing of medication. We reviewed six staff files and saw that the employment process was very robust and that all relevant checks had been completed. We spoke to staff in relation to the complaints procedure. All staff were able to verbalise the procedure for taking, reporting and dealing with a complaint. However, we were not able to see evidence of this in practice as the service had never received any complaints. Relatives all told us they had never had to make a complaint.