Starmount Villa Residential Care Home

Starmount Villa Residential Home provides personal care and accommodation for up to 30 people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of this inspection there were 30 people living in the home.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

People and their relatives spoke highly of the management and staff and the quality of care and support they received. People were supported to follow routines of their choosing. Activities and opportunities were provided both in and away from the home offering variety to people’s day as well as promote their well-being. Staff knew people well and were described as caring and respectful. Our observations supported what we had been told.

Care plans were personalised with information about people’s individual needs and wishes. Where risks had been identified these had been assessed and planned for. 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.

Meals times were a social occasion and people were encouraged to attend the dining room and meet with their friends. People said a good choice of meals were provided, which they enjoyed. Kitchen staff understood the dietary needs of people and additional advice and support was sought where people were at nutritional risk.

People’s health and wellbeing were regularly monitored with the involvement of relevant health care professionals. Safe systems were in place for the management and administration of people’s medicines.

Safe recruitment procedures were in place. Good staffing levels were provided, with clear designated roles and responsibilities. Staffing levels were kept under review to ensure changing needs were appropriately met. Staff received relevant training and support to carry out their role and responsibilities.

Suitable arrangements were in place to ensure the premises and equipment were kept safe. Good hygiene standards were maintained, and relevant guidance was adhered to help minimise the risk of cross infection.

Systems were in place to monitor and review the quality of service provided. The management team had identified areas of improvement to further enhance the service. Staff, people, and their relatives said they were confident in the management and leadership at the home and felt any issues brought to their attention would be addressed.

Systems and processes were in place to deal with any safeguarding concerns and complaints. People and their visitors said they felt able to raise any issues with the staff team.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 22 February 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow Up

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

We found the following examples of good practice.

A robust screening process was in place for all essential visitors to the home. This included completion of a temperature check, evidence of a recent lateral flow test and a vaccination check for visiting professionals.

The care home was clean, well maintained and odour-free. Enhanced cleaning schedules included regular cleaning of touch areas such as handrails and door handles. This reduced the risk of cross infection.

People and staff had risk assessments in place to identify their individual risks associated with COVID-19. We saw protective measures were in place to keep people and staff safe.

Safe visiting was taking place, with visitors able to access the home via an alternative entrance to minimise footfall within the home. The home had made adaptations to create a visitors' 'pod' to allow partitioned visiting without having to enter the care home. At the time of our inspection the home had paused some visits due to a recent outbreak.

Staff had access to supplies of PPE and had received training to ensure they used this correctly. All staff and people living at the service had regular testing for COVID-19, and all had received their vaccinations.

The registered manager sought support and advice from external agencies including the local health protection team and CQC and was open to all advice and guidance offered.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We found the following examples of good practice.

Good hygiene standards were maintained within the home. Additional staffing, furniture and equipment had been provided to help minimise the risk of cross infection.

Whilst people had not been required to isolate, the management team had contingency plans in place should this be required, so people were protected. This included identifying designated communal and private areas with separate external access as well as specific staff to support those affected.

Lots of consideration had been given to both the wellbeing of people living at the home and staff, to help boost morale. Activities and events continue to be provided and visiting arrangements were kept under review in line with current guidance. The service was also taking part in a pilot ‘companionship scheme’ providing opportunities for people to develop friendships with volunteers who share similar interests.

People’s health care needs continued to be met with good support from the local GP practice, who carried out a weekly ‘ward round’. This helped to monitor and respond to any changes in need.

Staffing arrangements were kept under review with additional staff available to cover any absences where needed.

Up to date policies and procedures were in place along with staff training. The service has updated their contingency plan for the winter period.

We were assured that this service met good infection prevention and control guidelines as a designated care setting.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Why the service is rated Good.

Staff members had been safely recruited. There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. People were supported by staff who were trained and well supported in their job roles.

People and staff were protected from potential risk of harm as the service had identified and assessed any risks to them and reviewed these on a regular basis. Staff knew how to protect people from abuse.

People were supported with their health needs. A visiting health care professional told us the service worked very closely with them, and would make referrals promptly if needed and would always follow any advice given. Medicines were provided safely and when required. Staff received training and followed safe procedures for administering medicines.

People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

The home was very clean, well maintained, well decorated and comfortably furnished. People told us they enjoyed the food. We found meal times were social occasions and saw the food provided was plentiful and very well presented.

Everyone we spoke with spoke highly of the staff and the kind and caring nature of the support they received. Throughout our inspection we observed staff interactions that were relaxed, kind, compassionate, respectful and friendly. A visitor said, “My [relative] is here, which I am very pleased about. The staff and the management are superb, as is everything else. You just can’t fault this place at all.”

We found the provider to have a passionate commitment to people remaining part of a wider community and not becoming isolated in the home. The provider was continually developing meaningful and appropriate community links. There was a wide range of meaningful activities available to people both inside the home and in the local area. Visitors were encouraged and welcomed.

Enabling people to die with dignity and remembering those who had lived at the home was very important at the home.

Care records were person centred and identified what was important to and for the person.

Feedback was obtained from people who used the service, their families, representatives and staff and this was used to improve the service. There was a procedure to help people to complain if they wanted to. People told us they had no complaints.

The home was well managed. The home had a registered manager as is required. We found the providers and registered manager were compassionate and committed to providing an individualised and caring service. All the staff we spoke with and observed during our inspection shared this commitment.

Systems were in place to monitor and continually improve the quality of the service provided. The provider had notified CQC of significant events and displayed the rating from the last report.

We saw that people's care records contained enough information to show how they were to be supported and cared for.

People were provided with a good choice of suitable and nutritious food and hydration to ensure their nutritional needs were met. We asked four of the people using the service to tell us what they thought of the food. Comments made included; 'First class, lovely food and plenty of it' and 'Really good, you couldn't fault it'.

An inspection of the care records showed that people had access to other health care services. Staff worked closely with other agencies so that people's social, emotional and physical needs were effectively met. We were also made aware of the systems that were in place to make sure that information was passed on when a person's care was transferred to another service.

We saw that appropriate arrangements were in place to help safeguard people from abuse. One of the people we spoke with told us, "I feel perfectly safe with the staff; they are lovely, very patient".

Overall the system in place for managing the medicines was safe, although some aspects of the recording around medication management were not as robust as they should have been.

We saw people appeared content and had choices about how they spent their day.

Peoples' care records were clear and well maintained. We saw that peoples' care needs had been considered and that care was being carried out according to those needs. People had been asked for their views in planning their care.

From our observations there were sufficient staff on duty to meet peoples' care needs. Staff were calm and unhurried. People received care and support in a timely manner. Staff were polite and courteous when speaking with people.

One person we spoke with told us the staff 'always come if you need them'. Another said 'there always seem to be plenty of staff around and if they need more they get them'.

We found the home to be clean, tidy and well maintained throughout. Furnishings and the outdoor areas were in good order.

Regular checks were carried out to make sure the environment was safe for the people living at the home.

A clear procedure was in place for receiving, handling, considering and responding to complaints. We viewed the complaints log and found that no complaints had been raised by people since March 2011. We saw that a number of complimentary cards and letter recently received from the families of people living, or who had lived, at Starmount Villa.