We carried out a review of the data available to us about St Clare Rest Home on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about St Clare Rest Home, you can give feedback on this service.
Accommodation was provided over three floors. Communal areas included a lounge, a dining space and a library. People had their own rooms. People had access to gardens at the rear of the home.
At the last inspection, we found the registered manager had not displayed the previous rating in line with our guidance on their website. It is a legal requirement that a provider's latest CQC inspection report rating is displayed at the service where a rating has been given. This is so that people, visitors and those seeking information about the service can be informed of our judgements. At this inspection, the provider had a new website. The previous rating was displayed clearly on the premises and on their website.
People’s experience of using this service:
People told us they felt cared for and we observed friendly interactions between people and staff. Staff respected people and enabled people to be independent. A person told us, “I’ve always been treated with respect, it’s my home.”
There was a positive culture where staff and management took pride in the care and support they provided There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs, to give the support they needed and to spend quality time with them.
People’s medicines were managed safely. Before they came to live at the home, people’s needs were fully assessed to ensure that staff could meet their needs appropriately. People had access to a range of healthcare professionals and services. An admission avoidance matron told us, “There is good communication between staff. They know the people well. Staff know when to call us for help.”
People were safe and were supported by staff who were trained to recognise the signs of any potential abuse. Staff had been trained in safeguarding and knew what action to take if they had any concerns about people’s safety or welfare. People’s risks were identified and assessed appropriately. Staff knew how to keep people safe in an emergency, such as a fire.
People were supported by staff whose suitability was checked through a robust recruitment process. Staff completed relevant training and were experienced in their roles to provide effective care to people. Staff told us they felt well supported, received regular supervisions and an annual appraisal.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People had a range of structured activities available. People were supported to maintain relationships that were important to them.
Care plans guided staff about people’s needs and how to meet them. Staff supported people to be involved in decisions about their care. No-one living at the home required end of life care at the time of the inspection, staff spent time with people to understand their end of life wishes which were recorded.
Staff, people and relatives told us they were given opportunities to give their views on the service and felt confident that feedback was listened to and acted upon.
This service met the characteristics of Good. More information is in the ‘Detailed Findings’ below.
Rating at the last inspection: Requires Improvement. The last inspection report was published on 1 May 2018.
Why we inspected: This was a planned comprehensive inspection that was scheduled to take place in line with Care Quality Commission (CQC) scheduling guidelines for adult social care services.
Follow up: We will review the service in line with our methodology for 'Good' services.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good in Safe, Effective, Caring and Responsive however the provider was not displaying their rating in line with the guidance on their website. The provider is in breach of their legal requirements and as such cannot be rated as good overall.
People told us that they felt safe. There were processes in place for reporting and responding to allegations of abuse. Staff had a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities and knew how to access policies and procedures regarding protecting people from abuse. Risks were assessed, monitored and updated as and when necessary. Action was taken to reduce the risk of incidents and information about risks to people were documented in their care records so that staff were aware. Staffing levels were assessed and amended if people’s needs changed. There were arrangements in place for covering if staff were unable to come to work at short notice. The building was well maintained and there were systems in place for ensuring that regular checks of the environment and equipment were carried out. Medicines were managed safely and staff administered them in line with recommended guidance. The service followed advice from pharmacists and had policies and procedures in place for staff to follow.
People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.
People told us that they were enabled to make choices about their care. People were supported to maintain balanced diets and have input into menu’s and meal choices. People told us that they liked the food. People had specialist equipment to assist with maintaining independence when eating.
Staff were trained and supported.to obtain qualifications to enable them to assist people safely. Staff received regular supervision and were supported to develop in their roles.
Staff spoke to people respectfully and encouraged people to remain independent with staff assisting when people needed them to. People told us they were involved in their care planning and reviews. People and their relatives were invited to discuss their care needs together with staff. People said they were kept informed about what was happening in the home on a daily basis and were able to choose what they wanted to do.
People were supported to maintain their religious beliefs and participate in activities that they enjoyed. The service did not always include all information about people in their care plans although staff were aware of people’s needs and preferences as they knew them well.
There was an accessible complaints process in place which people knew how to use if they needed to however they hadn’t needed to. The provider respected people’s wishes when they reached the end of their life. The registered manager worked with other services such as GPs and hospices to ensure that people were as pain free as possible.
Staff thought highly of the provider and registered manager. The vision and values of the organisation were visible within the home and staff were proud to work at the service. People told us that the provider and registered manager were visible and approachable. People and staff were asked for their opinion about the service and implemented suggestions that were put forward. The provider worked with other healthcare providers to ensure that people received care that met their needs. There were not formal processes in place for assessing and monitoring the quality of the service provided. We have made a recommendation about implementing processes for quality assurance.
We inspected St Clare Rest Home on 25 November 2015, our visit was unannounced. St Clare rest Home is a residential care home located in Southwick. It provides personal care for up to 18 older people with physical health needs. There were some people living with dementia. The home also provides respite services. The home is a detached property set within a garden. On the day of our visit there were thirteen people living at St Clare Rest Home.
There wasn’t a registered manager in post as the previous registered manager had left. The current manager and staff member who was is a care consultant were in the process of making applications to share the registered manager role. ‘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 who lived at St Clare Rest Home told us they were safe. One person said “I feel safe because there is always somebody around to see to things if they go wrong”. A relative told us the home was “absolutely safe”. People said they felt safe as they were cared for by staff that knew them well and were aware of the risks associated with their care needs. There were sufficient numbers of staff in place to keep people safe and staff were recruited in line with safe recruitment practices. Medicines were ordered, administered, recorded and disposed of safely. Staff had received training in safeguarding adults and knew who to report this to if needed.
People could choose what they wanted to eat from a daily menu or request an alternative if wanted. People were asked for their views about the food and were involved in planning the menu. They were encouraged and supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet. One person said “The food is very good and there is always lots of it”.
Staff were appropriately trained holding a Diploma in Health and Social Care and had received all essential training. Staff understood about people’s capacity to consent to care and had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and associated legislation, which they put into practice.
Care plans provided detailed information about people and were personalised to reflect how they wanted to be cared for. Staff followed clinical guidance and ensured that best practice was followed in care delivery. Daily records showed how people had been cared for and what assistance had been given with their personal care. There was a range of social activities on offer at the home, which people could participate in if they chose. The home had a complaints policy in place and a procedure that ensured people’s complaints were acknowledged and investigated promptly.
The home was well-led by the manager who felt supported by the provider and care consultant. A positive culture was promoted and staff were supported to provide a high quality of care. There was a range of audit tools and processes in place to monitor the care that was delivered, ensuring the quality of care was maintained. People could be involved in developing the home if they wished via questionnaires residents meetings and day to day contact. A GP praised the provider and said “They create a culture that is good, which empowers staff to do the right thing for people”.
The staff also told us they felt valued and supported by the management and had all their training needs met. They also told us they felt confident that quality of care delivered in St Clare's was of a high standard. We found care plans;, staff records and other records relevant to the management of the home were accurate and fit for purpose.
The staff knew their roles in protecting vulnerable adults and had received recent Safeguarding and Mental Capacity Act training. The home had systems in place to assess and continually review the service that it provides and was making improvements where needed. We found that patients were involved in the planning of their care and in any changes to the service that may have an effect on them.
We also looked at records to help us understand the needs and views of the people who used the service. These included a patient satisfaction survey, minutes of staff meetings and the homes incident and complaints log.
One person said to us that 'it's lovely here. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. Staff are great, very kind'.
Another person said to us that 'the manager and staff are wonderful. Staff seem to stay. You can talk to staff if there's anything you need to talk about'.
People felt that staff had the right skills to care for them.