St Benedicts Nursing Home Limited

We found the following examples of good practice.

Safe practices were in place to support visits to the care home. Visitors were greeted on arrival. Guidance was displayed at each entrance. Visitors were required to have their temperature checked and to confirm their current health status. They were asked to clean their hands and supported to put on the personal protective equipment (PPE) provided. This included aprons, masks and gloves. Visitors were also required to undertake a COVID lateral flow test (LFT) and wait for the result, before they started their visit.

In addition to bedroom visits, if assessed as safe and appropriate, two visiting areas were available. A bedroom had been reallocated to create a visiting 'pod,' and a COVID testing area. The other was a room off a main lounge area with direct access from outside. Visits were planned and booked in advance with intervals between visits for staff to clean the visiting areas.

The operations manager communicated changes and provided updates for relatives on a regular basis. For example, in response to a recent government announcement regarding visits to care homes, they wrote to all relatives. They provided clear guidance and set out the care home expectations, so relatives would know clearly how the changes would be implemented. The clinical lead had reassessed people living in the home and their individual visiting care plans had been updated.

People were also supported to keep in touch with relatives in ways that were meaningful to them, by phone and video calls. This was in addition to other group and individual activities, facilitated by the two activity coordinators. The home was calm, and we saw people were actively engaged and occupied during our inspection.

Isolating, cohorting and zoning plans were used to manage the spread of infection. This meant people could be safely isolated, with a dedicated and consistent small team of staff to support them. In the event of an outbreak occurring, 'zoned' areas had been identified that could be separated from other parts of the home. People newly admitted to the home were isolated for 14 days.

For people in the care home who were living with dementia, it was not always possible to achieve social distancing. The clinical lead told us they tried to mitigate the risks of the spread of infection, with enhanced cleaning of frequently used surfaces. Cleaning schedules and records were completed by the housekeeping team.

A regular programme of testing for staff and people who used the service, was in place. In addition, over 90% staff and people who used the service had received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine.

Staff had received Infection Prevention and Control training. Staff compliance with required cleaning practices and use of PPE was monitored on each shift by designated members of staff. Regular audits and checks were completed by the management team. We saw evidence of actions taken in response to non-compliance. Policies, procedures and risk assessments related to COVID were detailed and up to date. This all supported staff to keep people safe.

The clinical lead spoke positively about the support and guidance they had received from the Local Authority and CCG support teams and the GP practice. They also told us their staff team had been 'amazing' and had worked incredibly well since the onset of the pandemic. Staff were given the opportunity to express any fears or concerns and were supported to take 'time out' if needed. They were also provided with periodic financial bonuses, in recognition of their commitment and dedication to the care home.

St Benedict’s Care Home Limited is a care home, and provides nursing care for people who have physical mobility problems and those living with dementia. The home can accommodate a maximum of 60 people and all bedrooms have en--suite facilities. Accommodation is provided over four floors but split in to two units. One unit is called The Vicarage, and is home to people with general nursing needs, and the other unit is called The Deanery and is home to people living with Dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 52 people living at the home.

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

Feedback from people, relatives and staff was very positive. People we spoke with told us they felt safe living at St Benedict’s, one relative told us, “I never worry when I leave (relatives name) I know they are safe here.”

The service was clean, tidy and well maintained. Staff were caring and responsive to people’s needs. People enjoyed the food and told us they had plenty of snacks and drinks available if they wanted them.

People could discuss concerns with staff and knew how to make a complaint. A relative told us, “(Managers Name) is very approachable and always keeps me up to date with things.”

The provider had an audit system in place. Most audits identified areas of concern but we did find medicines management and recruitment audits needed to be more effective.

The provider was aware of their responsibility to report incidents to the relevant organisations, although we did find two incidents that had been investigated fully but staff had not informed the appropriate organisations in a timely manner.

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 09 August 2018)

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to people’s safety at St Benedict’s Care Home Limited. These concerns included physical abuse towards residents. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the Key Questions of Safe and Well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other Key Questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those Key Questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has remained Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection. Please see the Safe and Well Led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for St Benedict’s Care Home Limited 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.

St Benedict's Nursing Home is a “care home”. People living 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.

There is a registered manager for the service, this is a legal requirement. 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.

The inspection took place on 28 March and 10 April 2018 and was unannounced for the first day and announced for the second day.

The arrangements for the storage and management of medicines was satisfactory. However, improvements were needed to ensure administering was as prescribed and robust in ensuring people received the appropriate dosage.

Care planning was comprehensive and focused on the individual. There was a focus on identifying the personal choices and preferences of people in relation to daily living choices and routines.

People and relatives described the home as a safe place to live with sufficient staff and a warm and welcoming environment. One person described the home as, "A safe place to be where all the staff are friendly and care about us."

The provider had made changes to ensure they identified where people's health needs were changing and may require hospital admission. This was part of their learning from a complaint made by a relative.

The home promoted an environment where staff were encouraged to improve their skills and knowledge and gain professional qualifications. The provider had established links with a local college and apprenticeships training courses.

People described the staff as, "Caring and kind". One person said how staff respected her privacy and dignity when being supported with personal care. They said, "This makes all the difference to me I do not feel embarrassed in any way."

Staff were confident about raising any concerns about the safety and welfare of people and action being taken to address their concerns ensuring people were safe.

The service was responsive to people's changing care needs and had good arrangements for getting support from outside professionals such as tissue viability nurses and dieticians. A healthcare professional spoke positively of the approach of the home, "They are very responsive to people's needs and do not hesitate in seeking professional advice."

There were regular activities and people were able to maintain their contacts with the local community. One person said, "There is a lot going on from musicians to craft, I like the choices." Another person said, "There's plenty to do if you want."

Staff were very positive about the culture of the home being one of openness and listening to people and staff. People spoke of an approachable manager, "Always around to talk about anything you want, very approachable."

The provider and registered manager were actively promoting a culture where people could be confident of receiving quality care which met their needs. They recognised the importance of having skilled and trained staff in providing consistent care to people living in the home.