St Anthony's

Updated 4 February 2021

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 13 January 2021. We announced the inspection 10 minutes before we arrived at the service.

Updated 4 February 2021

The inspection took place on 15 and 21 June 2017 and was unannounced. When we last inspected the service on 20 and 22 July 2016 we found breaches with regulations 12 & 15 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This was because the provider had failed to manage people’s medicines safely and there were concerns in relation to the maintenance and cleanliness of the home. Following the comprehensive inspection, the provider wrote to us to tell us how they would make the required improvements to meet the legal requirements. At this inspection we found that the provider had made the necessary improvements and therefore improved the quality of the service provided at St Anthony’s.

St Anthony's is a residential care home located in Watford. It is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 22 people. At the time of the inspection 20 people were living at St Anthony’s.

There was a manager in post who had registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were supported to take their medicines by trained staff. We found that staff followed safe practices and medicines were accurately documented and stock levels checked were correct.

We found that the environment had improved with several areas of the home having been re-decorated since the last inspection took place.

People felt safe living at St Anthony’s. Staff understood how to keep people safe and risks to people's safety and well-being were identified and managed. The home was calm and people's needs were met in a timely manner by sufficient numbers of skilled and experienced staff. The provider operated robust recruitment processes which helped to ensure that staff employed to provide care and support for people were fit to do so.

Staff received regular one to one supervision and felt supported and valued. People received the support they needed to eat and drink sufficient quantities and their health needs were catered for with appropriate referrals made to external health professionals when needed.

People and their relatives complimented the staff team for being kind and caring. Staffs were knowledgeable about individuals' care and support needs and preferences and people had been involved in the planning of their care where they were able. Visitors to the home were encouraged at any time of the day.

The registered manager had arrangements in place to receive feedback from people who used the service, their relatives, external stakeholders and staff members about the services provided. People were confident to raise any concerns with staff or management and were satisfied that they would be listened to.

There was an open and respectful culture in the home and relatives and staff were comfortable to speak with the registered manager if they had a concern. The registered manager had arrangements to regularly monitor health and safety and the quality of the care and support provided for people who used the service.