Archived: St Nectans Residential Care Home

Updated 9 December 2020

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place. As part of CQC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic we are conducting a review of infection control and prevention measures in care homes.

This inspection took place on 27 November 2020 and was announced.

Updated 9 December 2020

About the service

St Nectans Residential Care Home is registered to provide nursing, care and accommodation for up to 35 people. There were 24 people living in the service when we visited. People cared for were mainly older people who were living with a range of care needs, including arthritis, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. Most people needed support with their personal care, eating, drinking or mobility.

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

People told us they experienced safe care. People told us, “I am comfortable here, it’s clean and I’m very happy here.” Another person said, “The staff are very caring, polite and respectful.” A relative said, “All the staff are very approachable, and I have got to know them well they will always make time to talk to us.” We observed, and people told us that staff met their needs with care and kindness.

People received safe care and support by staff who had been appropriately recruited, trained to recognise signs of abuse or risk and understood what to do to safely support people. People were supported to take positive risks, to ensure they had as much choice and control of their lives as possible. We observed medicines being given safely to people by suitably trained and knowledgeable staff, who had been assessed as competent.

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. Staff were committed to delivering care in a person-centred way based on people's preferences and wishes. There was a stable staff team who were knowledgeable about the people they supported and had built trusting and meaningful relationships with them. Staff had all received training to meet people’s specific needs. During induction, they got to know people and their needs well. One staff member said, “It’s a lovely home, we are lucky because we have great residents and a really supportive team to work with.” People’s nutritional and health needs were consistently met with involvement from a variety of health and social care professionals.

Everyone we spoke to was consistent in their views that staff were kind, caring and supportive. One staff member described the service as, “Like an extended family, the atmosphere is good. We always find laughter is the best medicine and you hear lots of laughter here.” People were relaxed, comfortable and happy in the company of staff and engaged in a positive way. People’s independence was considered important by all staff and their privacy and dignity was also promoted.

Activities were tailor-made to people’s preferences and interests. People were encouraged to go out and form relationships with family and members of the community. Staff knew people’s communication needs well and we observed them using a variety of tools, such as pictures and objects of reference, to gain their views. People were involved in their care planning. End of life care planning and documentation guided staff in providing care at this important stage of people’s lives. End of life care was delivered empathetically and with respect and dignity.

People, their relatives and health care professionals had the opportunity to share their views about the service. Complaints made by people or their relatives were taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.

The provider used a range of quality assurance systems to check people and their relatives were satisfied and confident in the standard of care provided within the home. The service had systems to continuously monitor, assess and improve the service provided.

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 Good (published 01 December 2016).

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.