Archived: St Elizabeth Residential Care Home

The service had a registered manager in post. 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.

On the day of the inspection visit there was a calm and relaxed atmosphere in the service. We observed people had a good relationship with staff and supported people in a caring and respectful way. People were being cared for by competent and experienced staff. A family member told us, “I visit most days and am always made to feel welcome. I feel very happy with the support (person’s name) gets here”.

Staff understood the needs of people they supported, so they could respond to them effectively. All spoke positively about the staff and the registered manager and felt their needs were being met. Comments included, “It’s a lovely place to live. The staff are all very kind and always have a cheery word, I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else” and “I couldn’t think of a nicer place to live. The staff are very considerate and patient”.

The service had safe arrangements for the management, storage and administration of medicines and people received their medicines as prescribed. Regular medicines audits were taking place to identify if any errors occurred.

Staff supported people to be involved in and make decisions about their daily lives. If people did not have the capacity to make certain decisions the service had systems in place to act in accordance with legal requirements under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. This was to protect people and uphold their rights.

People were able to take part in a range of activities of their choice. On the day of the inspection visit people were enjoying an entertainer who was singing. Some people got up to dance and told us they were really enjoying it. When people wanted to stay in their rooms this was respected by staff.

There were safe recruitment procedures to show staff were suitable and safe to work in a care environment, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks. The recruitment process identified applicants had the appropriate skills and knowledge needed to provide care to meet people’s needs.

People were protected from the risk of abuse because staff had received training to help them identify possible signs of abuse and knew what action they should take. Staff told us they supported people in a way that kept people safe.

Staff were supported by a system of induction training, supervision and appraisals. Staff meetings were held to share information and encourage staff to make suggestions regarding the running of the service. Training courses had recently been reviewed to ensure staff had the knowledge and skills to carry out their roles.

People told us they knew how to complain and would be happy to speak with the registered manager if they had any concerns.

There were a variety of methods in use to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included satisfaction surveys for people using the service and their relatives as well as the staff team. Overall satisfaction with the service was positive and results of the most recent survey were available for people to view at various entry points to the service.

People using the service and visitors all described the management of the service as open and approachable and thought people received a good service. Relatives told us, “We chose this home because we had heard really good reports about it and we have not been disappointed. (Persons name) has settled in really well” and “its run just like a family home. We always get asked if we are happy with everything. Very good all round”.

Equipment and supply services including electricity, fire systems and gas were being maintained.

We observed the care and support given to people in the shared areas of the home. We saw that staff were caring, aware of people's needs and preferences, and responsive to them.

We spoke with three members of staff and the manager, and reviewed records related to people's care and the management of the service. We found people's care needs were assessed and their care plans reflected their needs. Care and support were delivered according to plans which were reviewed regularly. People were cared for in a clean and hygienic environment. The provider had effective recruitment processes and carried out the necessary checks before staff started work. Suitable records were maintained and managed appropriately.

During our visit we spoke with four people who used the service and four members of staff (including the registered manager). We also spoke with two visitors. We spent time observing how staff interacted and supported people. We saw staff treating people with respect and involving some of the people in activities.

All the people we spoke with said they were happy. One person said she had no complaints, another told us the food was good and that the staff were aware of what she could have. We spoke with one set of relatives, who said they were very happy with the home, felt their relative was well looked after

We looked around the building and saw that the bedrooms, communal areas, bathrooms and toilets were clean and free from unpleasant odours.