St Mary's Residential Care Home

Updated 14 May 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention 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

One inspector and an expert by experience undertook this inspection. 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 Mary's Residential Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. St Mary's Residential Care Home is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 15 people living at the service, two relatives and one visitor for their views on the quality of care provided. We spoke with six staff, which included, the deputy manager, registered manager and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. To help us assess and understand how people's care needs were being met we reviewed four people's care records. This included multiple medication records and multiple health care records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, staff recruitment and training records, including policies and procedures were reviewed. We observed how people were being cared for and looked around areas of the home, which included some people's bedrooms and shared areas. Following the inspection, we sought feedback from a further five relatives, two visitors of people who used the service and another two professionals.

Updated 14 May 2022

About the service

St Mary's is a residential care home which provides accommodation and personal care for up to 25 people. The service provides support to people aged 65 and over including people with physical disabilities and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection care was being provided for 20 people in one adapted building. A chapel is situated towards the rear of the building.

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

People were protected from avoidable harm as risks to people's health and safety were identified and assessed. People and their relatives said they felt safe and were cared for by staff who knew them well. A person said, “I do feel safe, it’s a very nice home.” Medicines were managed safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed. People were protected from the risk of abuse and staff were aware of their safeguarding responsibilities and how to report concerns.

There were enough staff with the appropriate skills and training to meet people’s needs. Staff were recruited safely and received supervision where opportunities to develop and feedback about their practice were discussed. A staff member said, “[Registered manager] is wonderful, she is amazing. We have regular supervisions which cover talking about the people we support, our role, areas of improvement, wellbeing and training.”

People were treated with kindness, dignity and respect. Staff interactions with people were warm and caring. A health professional said, ‘They display a good knowledge of their residents and I witness kind and considerate care when I am in the home.’ People were observed in a homely environment adapted for their needs and were supported to drink enough and maintain a balanced diet. A relative said, ‘St Marys aims to respond to any dietary requests, provides a varied and high-quality diet with personal choice/requests catered for. [Person] enjoys their meals.”

Peoples' care plans contained clear information to enable staff to meet their needs; this included information about people's daily routines, how they liked to spend their time and what staff could do to support them. A staff member said, “Everyone is an individual, with their own preferences, and care should be personalised. Not one person is the same.” People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

St Mary's residential care home was well-led by a management and staff team determined and driven to lead by example, and who were committed to quality and placing people at the heart of the service. Staff were motivated by and proud of the service. Governance was well-embedded into the running of the service. There was a strong framework of accountability to monitor performance and risk leading to the delivery of demonstrable quality improvements to the service. Learning from concerns and incidents was a key contributor to continuous improvement.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 22 November 2019 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was Outstanding, published on 12 July 2019.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. 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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.