Archived: St Oswalds

Updated 5 February 2021

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection prevention and control measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one 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.

Service and service type

St Oswald’s is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service did not have a manager registered with CQC at the time of the inspection. The registered manager and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. An interim manager had been recruited and the necessary registration paperwork was in the process of being completed.

Notice of inspection

We gave 24 hours’ notice of the inspection because infection prevention and control arrangements had to be agreed with the provider and put in place prior to our visit; this helped to mitigate the risk of any cross contamination or transmission of Covid-19.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection and formulate a ‘planning tool’.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who lived at the home, five relatives about their experience of the care provided, five members of staff as well as the registered manager and regional manager. We reviewed a range of records, including three people’s care records, several medication administration records and four staff personnel files. We also reviewed a variety of records relating to the management and governance of the service, including policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at audit and governance data, as well as infection prevention and control policies and procedures.

Updated 5 February 2021

About the service

St Oswald’s is a ‘care home’ providing accommodation, nursing and personal care for up to 41 older people; some of whom lived with dementia. At the time of the inspection 32 people were living at the home.

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

People’s areas of risk were appropriately assessed, the relevant support measures were put in place and people health and well-being was regularly reviewed as a way of keeping people safe.

People's care plans and risk assessments contained relevant information and enabled staff to provide the most up to date care and support people needed. A variety of different monitoring tools such as diet / fluid and weight charts helped to ensure that people’s level of risk was appropriately monitored.

Safe medication systems and procedures continued to be in place. People received their medicines as prescribed by trained members of staff and regular audits and checks were regularly taking place.

Staffing levels were closely monitored; this helped to ensure people received safe, timely and effective support. People received support by staff who had been safely recruited and deemed suitable to work in a health and social care environment.

We were assured that infection prevention and control (IPC) measures were appropriately followed. The home was clean, hygienic and well-maintained. Health and safety measures were in place and the provider ensured that all regulatory compliance certificates were in date.

Effective governance and quality assurance measures were in place; these helped to monitor, review and improve the provision of care people received.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was ‘good’ (published 18 April 2019).

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced inspection of this service on 12 January 2021 to follow up on a number of concerns that we had received. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

Our report is only based on the findings in those areas at this inspection. The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for the effective, caring and responsive key questions were not looked at during this visit. We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used to calculate the overall rating at this inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the 'Safe' key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively

The overall rating for the service has remains ‘good’. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for St Oswald’s on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to our inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.