St. Euphrasia's Care Home

We found the following examples of good practice.

Visits took place in the care home’s parlour wherever possible, which avoided the need for visitors to enter the main residential area.

The manager allocated a designated carer to people who had tested positive for Covid-19, and they also allocated a bathroom to those people who did not have an ensuite room.

Only one staff member used the staff room at any one time to promote social distancing.

The home had regular meetings with people to talk about the pandemic, safety measures, local and national restrictions and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

The manager regularly reminded staff of the importance of good infection control practice including the correct donning and doffing procedures for PPE to prevent complacency.

Given the specialist nature of the home being attached to a convent, the manager included the nuns living in the convent in their Covid-19 testing programme.

The cleaning staff followed strict daily, weekly and deep cleaning schedules. They maintained a very high standard of cleanliness and hygiene in the care home, for example, they cleaned high contact points three times daily, including weekends.

St Euphrasia’s Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to Sisters of the ‘Good Shepherd’, a religious order of women in the Roman Catholic Church. The care home is linked to the Good Shepherd convent situated next door. It is a single storey building with 14 single rooms, five of which provide en-suite facilities and is based in Blackley, Greater Manchester. At the time of the inspection there were 11 people living in the home.

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

People reported feeling very safe and cared for in the home. Staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding people and when to raise concerns. People received their medicines safely and recruitment practices were safe. The home was clean and staff understood their infection control responsibilities.

People told us that staff were responsive to their needs. There was excellent feedback about the food. An established team received training to carry out their roles effectively and there was no agency staff being used. The environment was dementia friendly and people were supported to make their own decisions.

People we spoke with told us that staff were kind and caring and that they were treated with dignity and respect. We observed staff that were committed to their roles and were responsive to people’s needs and promoted their independence.

Care was person centred and people were supported to access health and social care professionals when they needed to. People’s spiritual needs were met and there was good feedback about the home’s routines and the activities provided.

The home was managed by a registered manager who was respected by staff and valued by the people who lived in the home. Staff reported a high level of job satisfaction. There was an open transparent culture that supported good practice and there was good communication in place with people, families and staff.

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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 31 May 2019).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.

St Euphrasia’s Care Home provides care and accommodation to Sisters of the ‘Good Shepherd’, a religious order of women in the Roman Catholic Church. The care home is linked to the Good Shepherd convent which is situated next door. It is a single storey building with 14 single rooms, three of which provide en-suite facilities. At the time of the inspection there were 12 sisters living at the home. Building work was being carried out to extend two of the bedrooms to add en-suite facilities.

There was a registered manager in place at the service. 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.

Staffing levels were flexible and were sufficient on the day of the inspection to meet the needs of the sisters residing at the home. Staff were recruited safely, all relevant checks were undertaken to help ensure employees were suitable to work with vulnerable people.

Appropriate safeguarding adults policies and procedures were in place and staff were able to demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding issues. There was also a whistle blowing policy in place and staff were confident to report any poor practice they may witness.

Medicines systems were in place to help ensure all medicines were ordered, stored, administered and disposed of safely. General and individual risk assessments were in place and accidents and incidents were recorded and followed up appropriately.

Health and safety measures were in place and documentation was up to date. All staff undertook training in infection prevention and control, regular audits were undertaken and there was an infection control champion amongst the staff.

Staff demonstrated a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The induction programme was thorough, mandatory training was regularly refreshed and further training courses undertaken to help ensure staff skills and knowledge remained current.

There was a choice of meals and plenty of food and drink offered throughout the day. Special diets and nutritional requirements were catered for and people’s nutritional and hydration intake was monitored if required.

The service was working within the legal requirements of the Mental Health Act (2005) (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Staff had undertaken training and could demonstrate an understanding of the principles of the MHA, making decisions in people’s best interests and when a DoLS authorisation may be necessary.

The sisters we spoke with and observed at the home were happy and contented. We saw that interactions between staff and the sisters were kind and courteous at all times. Dignity and privacy were respected.

Staff had undertaken end of life training and the service endeavoured to ensure that the sisters could continue to be cared for at the home, if this was their wish, once they were nearing the end of their lives.

Care records were person-centred and included appropriate health and personal information. These records were regularly reviewed and updated.

There were many spiritual and religious activities which took place on a daily basis. Other activities and outings were also on offer and there were regular visitors to the service from both the convent and the outside community.

There was an appropriate complaints procedure, but there had been no recent complaints. Concerns were dealt with promptly to help ensure they did not escalate.

The registered manager was described as approachable and had an ‘open door’ policy so that people could speak with her when they wished to.

Staff supervisions and appraisals were undertaken regularly to help provide support for their training and development. Staff meetings were held on a regular basis.

A number of audits and checks were undertaken by the service. This helped ensure the continued quality of the care provision.