St Benets Court

St Benets Court is a large detached residential home. The service can support up to 32 people. Accommodation is situated over three floors, and almost all bedrooms have en-suite facilities. People have access to communal space, including a garden.

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

The service provided safe care to people. People looked at ease and comfortable in the company of staff. For example, they said, “I like it here, everyone is kind and nice to me” and “Oh yes, I love it here, it’s the best place I’ve been.” Relatives said they would recommend the service to other families. For example, 2 relatives said, “It’s wonderful here, he’s getting good care” and “I’m happy with mum’s safety here, I’m very happy mum’s here.”

Staff told us how they took the complexity of the care needs of people already living at the home into account before deciding if they could meet the care needs of new people. People’s care needs were regularly reviewed and updated, when necessary, to ensure they reflected the person’s current needs. Where appropriate, care records identified risks in relation to falls, nutrition or pressure care.

The environment and equipment were well maintained to keep people and staff safe. Checks included fire equipment, hot water temperature checks and equipment was routinely serviced. Fire training included practical training and scenarios, which staff said made their responsibility to keep people safe more real. The home was clean, tidy and free from persistent odours. Visitors and people living at the home commented positively on the standard of cleanliness. Medicines were administered and managed safely.

Despite national staffing shortages, the management team had worked hard to ensure they recruited new staff. The staff team met people’s care needs. For example, people told us staff responded to call bells in a timely manner. People said, “They come quickly when I ring. It’s well run and efficient” and “There’s enough staff, sometimes the staff will sit and chat with me, I don’t notice any delays with staff when I ring my bell.”

Recruitment checks helped ensure staff were suitable to support people. Staff told us shifts were often busy but explained how teamwork enabled them to meet people’s needs. People and relatives commented on the calibre of the staff and the new manager, their friendliness and the welcoming atmosphere.

Staff provided personalised care because they knew people well. This was confirmed by feedback from people and relatives, as well as our observations of staff interactions with people.

At our last inspection we recommended the service considered how they can support people to make more meaningful choices at mealtimes. The provider had made improvements. The lunchtime experience was calm and relaxed. Thought had been given by the new manager and staff as to how people were supported to ensure people’s dignity and preference were respected. We saw how staff adapted their approach to each individual when supporting them with their lunch. Menus were clear and choices were available.

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.

People's quality of life was enhanced by good quality assurance systems and the leadership of the new manager and their commitment to provide good quality care. Feedback from relatives showed the new manager was valued. For example, “[Name] is excellent, an extremely good manager. She’s fantastic… She’s an extremely responsive manager. She comes out and talks to me.” People living, visiting and working at the home said they had or would recommend the home to others.

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 5 November 2021).

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection in response to a concern we had received regarding staffing levels and whether staff had time to assist people with a bath or a shower. Based on this inspection, we found this concern was not substantiated.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

St Benets Court is a large detached residential home providing personal care to 25 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 32 people. Accommodation is situated over three floors, and almost all bedrooms have en-suite facilities. People have access to communal space and pleasant gardens.

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

Everybody living at St Benets Court had a care plan in place, however, these were not always fully completed and there was limited information about how to care for people at the end of their life. Work was ongoing to improve care plans and to ensure they fully reflected the individual person’s needs and choices, and the provider had recently employed a consultant to ensure this work was completed. At the time of inspection good progress had been made.

People were not always supported to make meaningful choices at mealtimes; people were asked to choose their meal up to three days in advance, and on the second day of inspection some of the people we observed did not enjoy a positive mealtime experience. However, people were supported to maintain a balanced diet and gave positive feedback about the quality of the food and since the inspection changes have been made to the mealtime experience.

We recommended that the service considers how they can support people to make more meaningful choices at mealtimes.

People living at St Benets Court told us they felt safe, and systems were in place to safeguard them from avoidable harm. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs, although at times staff workload was high, which affected morale. The manager reflected that the nationwide staffing crisis had affected them, but that they were beginning to see improvements. Staff morale had improved, and the changes in management were beginning to have a positive impact on the culture and atmosphere.

Staff were recruited safely.

People’s individual risks were assessed and reviewed, and people received their medicines safely. Environmental risk assessments were completed, areas for improvement were identified and measures were in place to prevent and control infection. People’s care plans identified an outcome and focused on their strengths, before telling staff what they could do to help.

External healthcare professionals were involved where appropriate, and, whilst feedback from healthcare professionals was mixed, concerns raised had been addressed and improvements had been noted. Staff had appropriate training and knowledge and additional training was being implemented to ensure all recently employed staff members completed a thorough induction programme.

People were treated with kindness and respect and we saw warm, caring relationships between people and staff. One person told us, "They do look after you here." Another said, "They’re very good here, they really care." People were supported to express their views informally, through residents’ meetings and through ‘comfort meetings’, which were a regular part of the manager’s quality assurance checks.

On the first day of inspection people told us how much they had enjoyed the garden party the previous day. One person told us, "It was brilliant." Another said, "We all got up and danced." A third told us "We all had a good time." People had given feedback about activities via the comfort meeting process, and the manager had acted on this feedback. Systems were in place to record, investigate and respond to complaints or concerns and people, family members and staff all told us they felt comfortable raising concerns.

The provider had identified that improvements to the oversight and management of the home had been needed. This had resulted in changes being made at management level, and a new manager had recently been appointed. A comprehensive audit and quality oversight system was in place and outcomes of these audits reflected what we saw, and what staff told us. Staff morale had begun to improve, and the changes in management were beginning to have a positive impact on the culture and atmosphere. Systems were in place to monitor and drive improvement and managers sought to learn lessons from things that had gone wrong. Records demonstrated good partnership working and appropriate involvement of health professionals.

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

This service was registered with us on 19/09/2019 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 16 November 2017.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staffing levels, staff knowledge, morale and attitude, pressure area management, medication records and communication. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the Safe, Effective and Well Led sections of this full report.

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.