Background to this inspection
Updated
23 October 2020
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
As part of this inspection we looked at the infection prevention and control measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by three inspectors and a specialist advisor. The specialist advisor was a nurse.
Service and service type
St Catherine’s Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
Notice of inspection
We gave a short period notice of the inspection. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic we were mindful of the amount of time inspectors were on site. Therefore, records and documentation were requested before the site visit and reviewed remotely.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection and sought feedback from the local authority. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We also reviewed the latest Healthwatch report. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with seven people who used the service and contacted three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the registered manager, unit managers and care staff. 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 speak with us.
We reviewed a range of records. This included multiple care and medication records. We looked at two staff recruitment files and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.
Updated
23 October 2020
About the service
St Catherine’s is a care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 40 people across two units, with one specialising in providing care to people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 33 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People received care and support which was person-centred, safe and was delivered by a competent staff team who knew them well. Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse. People felt safe. Medicines were managed and administered safely. Effective measures were in place to prevent and control the spread of infection.
Each person had an individualised care plan which provided staff with guidance about their needs, wishes, likes and dislikes. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on visiting arrangements had been managed by the implementation of window visits, telephone and video calls. The registered manager was pro-actively planning for visiting arrangements as the weather becomes colder. Policies and procedures were in place to handle and respond to complaints. People and relatives told us they felt able to speak up if they had any concerns.
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.
Effective systems were in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service. There was a strong team spirit amongst staff and feedback was unanimously positive about the difference the new registered manager had made since their arrival. The service had established strong links with partner agencies.
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 (02/09/2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out an unannounced inspection of this service on 10/06/2020 and breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment, staffing, dignity and governance.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has remained the same. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for St Catherine’s Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.