St Mary's Care Home

Updated 20 August 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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by an inspector, specialist advisor and Expert by Experience. The specialist advisor was a nurse. 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 Care Home is a care home with nursing care. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since our last inspection. 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 also reviewed intelligence information we held on our system including notifications about important incidents.

During the inspection

We spoke with six people who used the service and five family members about their experience of the care provided. We also spoke with the registered manager, two registered nurses, one senior carer and four members of staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included people's care and risk management plans, medicines management records and staff files in relation to recruitment data. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

We contacted six healthcare professionals to find out their experiences of working with this provider.

Updated 20 August 2022

About the service

St Mary's Care Home is a care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 86 people. At the time of our inspection, there were 84 people using the service. The service supported older people living with dementia and nursing needs. The home is split into five different units, each with their own separate adapted facilities.

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

People were provided with safe care because staff received regular support and knew their care needs very well. However, some records and guidance needed reviewing to ensure continuity of care delivery. We will check the provider's taken actions to address this area when we next inspect.

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.

People felt valued and safe living at the service supported by staff who were considerate, kind and caring. Healthcare professionals told us their working relationships with the provider were at a high standard and effective.

People's risk assessments included mitigating strategies to keep people safe. There was enough staff to meet people's care needs in good time and staff spent time with people having conversations. People's medicines were managed safely and as prescribed. Staff were aware about the infection control procedures and hygiene requirements.

There was a clear leadership structure at the service with set values for inclusion and empowering of people. Quality assurance systems and processes were in place to ensure safe management of people's care. The management team told us that going forward they will not only act on individual people's feedback but analyse their feedback so that the necessary improvements to the quality and safety of the services could be made.

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 overall rating for this service was good (published 24/02/2021).

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for St Mary's Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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 the service and information we receive about them. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.