Archived: St Lukes Care Home

Updated 3 November 2018

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The unannounced inspection took place on 05 and 06 September 2018. The inspection team consisted of two Inspectors, an assistant inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Before our inspection we reviewed the information, we held about the service and the registered provider. We also gathered information from the local authority and commissioners for Halton.

We used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people who lived in the service. We spent time observing the daily life in the service including the care and support being delivered. We also undertook a Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI) observation in one unit in addition to other observations we made. (SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.)

There were 45 people using the service at the time of our inspection. We spoke with eight relatives, ten people living at the service and ten staff to gather their views.

We looked around the building including the communal areas, bedrooms, the main kitchen, the laundry, satellite kitchens in each unit, the two medicine rooms, bathrooms and toilets on both floors. During the two days of inspection, we reviewed a variety of documents such as, policies and procedures relating to the delivery of care, four people's care records, four staff files, records relevant to auditing and management of the home and staff. This included a sample of medicine administration records, staffing rotas, activity records, maintenance certificates and health and safety checks.

Updated 3 November 2018

The inspection took place on 05 and 06 September 2018 and was unannounced. At our last inspection in October 2017 we found that the service was not meeting the required standards. We had found several breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 relating to safe care and treatment, staff training and support and good governance. We also identified an offence under the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 as the registered person had not always notified the Commission of matters they were required to. Following the inspection in October 2017 the provider implemented an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve the service. At this inspection we found that the actions had been met and the provider was no longer in breach of the regulations.

St Luke's Care Home provides nursing care for older people who have Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia. St Luke's is located in Runcorn close to local amenities. It is a two storey purpose built property comprising of 4 separate units and 56 single bedrooms. It has a range of communal spaces in each unit including: lounges; dining rooms; sitting areas, kitchen, conservatory and a courtyard garden. A car park is provided for visitors.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who is 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.

St Luke’s accommodates 56 people across four separate units, each of which have separate adapted facilities. All the units specialise in providing care to people living with dementia, people who mental health needs, people who have a sensory impairment and people who have a physical disability. At present there are 33 people who are being cared for. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided. St Luke’s provide a range of facilities including a cinema, indoor gardens and reminiscence rooms. They also have an in-house hairdressing salon.

People who used the service and their relatives had a positive attitude about the service being delivered and about the standard of care and support provided by the staff team. They acknowledged improvements since the registered manager had commenced working at St Lukes Care Home.

Risks to people's health and wellbeing were managed to keep them safe from harm. Potential or actual risks were assessed and staff followed the plans put in place.

People's medicines were managed safely.

There were detailed systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. The service was safely managed.

People were supported by a team of staff that had had appropriate training and support to maintain their skills and knowledge to meet their needs.

The service was working within the principles of the Mental capacity act (MCA) and any conditions on authorisations to deprive a person of their liberty were being met.

People were treated with respect, consideration and kindness. Care was provided in a personalised way from staff who knew people’s needs and preferences.

People were provided with a varied recreational and leisure activity programme. The activity organiser's were caring and took time to meet people’s needs.

Information and arrangements were in place for the staff team to respond to concerns or complaints from people using the service and their representatives.

Staff told us the registered manager was supportive and approachable and that they had noticed big improvements in the service since their arrival.