St Mary's Court

Updated 5 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 21 January 2021 and was unannounced.

Updated 5 February 2021

St Marys Court is registered to provide accommodation, personal care and nursing for up to 90 people. There were 80 people living in the service when we inspected on 9 and 11 October 2018. The inspection was unannounced.

St Marys Court is a ‘care home’. 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, and both were looked at during this inspection.

St Marys Court accommodates people across three floors in four separate units. The service was purpose built, bright and airy and people had access to a range of outdoor spaces and gardens.

The needs of people using the service varied from residential, nursing and people living with dementia. A small number of people were receiving nursing care while they were waiting to return home following a hospital admission.

A registered manager was in place who had provided consistent leadership at the service for some years. 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.

At our last inspection of the service on 24 February 2016 we rated the service as good overall but outstanding in well led. At this inspection we found that they had maintained their rating. We again rated well led as outstanding because the quality of care that people received was continually assessed, reviewed and improved. The leadership of the service strived to create a service that offered outstanding care to people. We found elements of outstanding care in the other domains such as in staff training and in the activities provided. We identified some shortfalls which were largely in documentation but these were addressed by the registered manager during the course of the inspection.

The service had a robust recruitment process in place to ensure staff had the necessary skills and attributes to support people using the service. The service benefited from having an onsite trainer and all new members of staff completed an induction programme to develop their skills and knowledge. Ongoing training was provided which meant people received care from skilled staff who could meet their needs. Staff received supervision and annual appraisals to support them in their role and identify any learning needs and opportunities for professional development.

There were systems in place to ensure that risks associated with delivering care and with the environment were identified and managed. Incidents and accidents were logged and reviewed to identify learning. Medicines were well managed. Staff were clear about how to raise concerns and the safeguarding procedures.

People liked the food and the meals served looked nutritious and nicely presented. Staff had completed nutritional assessments for those people who were found to be at risk of malnutrition or a low fluid intake. This was clearly recorded in their care plans, and staff effectively monitored and recorded their food and fluid intake.

We saw that staff responded promptly to people’s changing health needs and referrals had been made to specialist healthcare professionals, including dieticians, optician and speech and language therapists, for additional advice and support.

Staff provided people with individualised care, which was centred on their needs and wishes. The care and support provided to people was based upon their preferences and were outlined in their care plan. People were supported to lead a full life and had access to a good range of activities.

People received care from staff who knew them and with whom they felt comfortable. Staff were thoughtful and patient when providing care and supported people to make choices about all aspects of their daily life. Staff were respectful and showed compassion and kindness when speaking to people.

People and their relatives knew how to raise concerns or make a complaint and were confident the registered manager would take prompt and appropriate action to address any issues raised.

The provider and registered manager had a clear vision for the service and systems were in place which enabled them to monitor and develop the service. Staff took pride in their work, felt valued and were clear about the values of the service.