We carried out a review of the data available to us about St Lauras 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 Lauras, you can give feedback on this service.
We found the following examples of good practice;
The registered manager completed a root cause analysis following a recent outbreak in the home. They were planning to use learning from this to manage risks more effectively in any future outbreaks.
Staff received Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) training and how to correctly put on and take off their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The registered manager requested help from external health professionals to deliver refresher training in these areas for staff.
Areas of the home were clean and well ventilated. The registered manager implemented robust deep cleaning schedules and regular checks were in place to check the environment was hygienic and IPC procedures were followed.
There was an incident where a positive test result for a person had not been reported to the registered manager. Following this the registered manager reported to local safeguarding authorities, lessons were learnt and shared with all the staff team to ensure there were no further occurrences.
Visitors were informed of the correct process they had to follow when visiting people in the home. There were no restrictions on visits prior to the outbreak. During the outbreak the registered manager followed government guidance for allowing visitors and they were supported by health and social care professionals.
Staff carried out a rapid test before they started their shift. During the outbreak they were allocated to work only to one unit in the home as far as possible. Agency staff were used to cover for staff absences, however, at times had to support other units to ensure people received care safely.
St Lauras is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 45 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 64 people.
St Lauras is a purpose-built residential home offering accommodation to people over three floors. The fourth floor being used for facilities like kitchen, laundry, staff room and a cinema room used by people living in St Lauras.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People felt safe and praised staff for being caring and respectful. People and relatives told us they wished for more staff so they could spend time in their company, however if they requested help this was done promptly. People’s medicines were managed safely.
People were involved in planning their care and they felt staff listened to them. Relatives were happy about the measures in place to protect people from COVID-19 and complimented the high level of cleanliness in the home. Staff followed Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) guidance and wore appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) when working.
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.
Safeguarding procedures were in place and staff followed these to ensure people were protected from the risk of abuse. Risks to people’s health and well-being were assessed and mitigated to keep people safe.
Staff were supported and motivated by the management team in the home to attend training and develop their skills and knowledge to further their career. Staff praised the registered manager for leading from the front, being supportive and hands on helping with daily tasks.
There were numerous improvements made by the registered manager in the few months they have been in post. These included developing an effective, skilled staff team, improving risk management and care records. There were still areas the registered manager was improving. These included the personalisation of care records, staffing, falls analysis and monitoring of daily charts.
The providers governance systems helped the registered manager identify the areas in need of improvements. The regular audits done by the registered manager and the provider led to a service improvement plan with actions taken to address all shortfalls within the home.
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 28 November 2019 and this is the first comprehensive inspection. We carried out a targeted inspection on 12 March 2021, however the service was not rated.
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 Lauras is a purpose-built residential care home, offering accommodation for 64 people on four floors with selection of open plan communal areas. 36 people were living in the home at the time of the inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe in the home and they liked living there. They told us staff knew them well and if they needed any support staff were at hand. Their health needs were monitored by staff and health professionals were involved in people’s care. People’s medicines were managed safely.
People had been supported to receive a wide range of visits in accordance with their preferences. These included window visits, garden visits, socially distanced visits in the outside ‘cabin’ set up by the provider and indoor visits were planned for single named visitors, in accordance with guidance that had been recently published.
A new manager started at the service a few weeks before the inspection. They identified that some improvements were needed, this included the development of people’s care plans, risk management including falls and weight loss, record keeping and staff deployment. Regular audits were carried out to help monitor the quality and safety of the service provided.
Staff told us they were happy with the training and support they received from their managers.
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 28 November 2019 and has not been rated. This is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
We undertook this targeted inspection to check specific concerns we received from members of the public. This included concerns about how the service had managed the Covid-19 outbreak in the home, how peoples medicines were managed and that fire drills were not completed.
CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.
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.