St Anns Care Home

St Anns Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 39 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 37 people using the service.

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

People told us they felt safe in the service, and staff understood the signs of abuse and knew how to report them. Risk assessments were in place to ensure people were safely cared for.

Staffing levels were adequate to keep people safe in the service, and people said that staff gave them help promptly when they required. Medicines were safely stored and administered by staff who were trained to do so.

Lessons were learned from any mistakes made, and any accidents and incidents were reviewed and acted upon to maximise safety within the service.

People, their relatives, and staff told us the service was well managed and led. There was a positive atmosphere within the home and people were treated with respect.

Systems and processes were in place to ensure that all aspects of the service were checked on and actions taken as required.

People and staff were engaged with and listened to and were able to feedback on their care and support.

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.

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 25 November 2017).

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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

Follow up

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

The home is set out across two floors with a communal lounge, dining room and conservatory. People’s rooms have en-suite facilities.

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

We found the following examples of good practice.

Visitors to the building had their temperature checked and were required to complete a questionnaire to reduce the risk of infection into the home.

The home was clean and well maintained, regular checks took place to ensure deep cleaning and frequent cleaning of high touch areas was taking place.

Staff had access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and hand sanitizer was available throughout the service. Separate changing facilities were available for staff to change into uniform at the start of their shift and change again before leaving the building.

Staff had received training in infection control. Checks had been completed regularly by infection control champions to ensure staff were following safe practice around hand hygiene and the appropriate use of PPE.

Staff and people received regular COVID 19 testing.

Staff had a good understanding of the signs and symptoms of COVID 19 and people were monitored daily. The provider had a system in place to isolate symptomatic people and people who tested positive for COVID 19.

Staff supported people to social distance in communal areas and the home had been adapted to ensure good infection control practice, such as removing unnecessary items that may transmit infection.

The provider followed government guidance on the admission of people into the home. New admissions or people returning to the home from another service were tested for COVID-19 and isolated as per government guidance to reduce the risk of infection.

Staff supported people to maintain contact with their family and friends by telephone and video calls. People were also supported to make and send cards to family and friends.

Individualised risk to people and staff had been assessed and shielding was supported where required.

The provider supported staff by ensuring they had access to confidential support. This included support for managing stress and bereavement. The provider had invested in extra training to support staff resilience and wellbeing which was due to be delivered to staff at the time of the inspection.

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

At the last inspection on 30 July 2015, the service was rated ‘Good’. At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good’.

A registered manager was in post although we were informed they would be submitting an application to voluntarily cancel their registration. The provider was recruiting a new manager and the successful candidate will apply to register. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

People were safe. There were sufficient numbers of experienced and trained staff to safely meet people’s assessed needs. There were appropriate recruitment procedures in place to protect people from receiving care from staff that were unsuited to the job.

People’s needs had been assessed prior to admission and they each had an agreed care plan that was regularly reviewed to ensure they continued to receive the care and support they needed. People were safeguarded from abuse and poor practice by staff that knew what action they needed to take if they suspected this was happening. Risks to people’s safety were reviewed as their needs and dependencies changed.

People were treated equally and shown respect as individuals with a range of needs that came together from diverse backgrounds. They received care and support from staff that knew what was expected of them and they carried out their duties effectively and with compassion. Care plans were personalised and reflected each person’s individual needs and provided staff with the information and guidance they needed to manage risk and keep people safe.

People’s capacity to make informed choices had been assessed and the provider and staff were aware of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the importance of seeking people’s consent when receiving care and support. People were encouraged and enabled to do things for themselves by friendly staff that were responsive and attentive. Their individual preferences for the way they liked to receive their care and support were respected. Staff had insight into people’s capabilities and aspirations.

There were appropriate arrangements in place for people to have regular healthcare check-ups. People had access to community healthcare professionals and received timely medical attention when this was needed.

People who needed encouragement and support with eating a healthy diet received the help they required. They had enough to eat and drink.

Medicines were appropriately and safely managed and staff had received the training they needed in the safe administration of medicines. Medicines were securely stored and there were suitable arrangements in place for their timely administration.

People, and where appropriate, their family or other representatives were assured that if they were unhappy with the care provided they would be listened to and that appropriate action would be taken to resolve matters.

We found that staff supported people appropriately and spoke to them in a friendly and respectful manner. Staff spent time with people talking with them and encouraging them to be involved in activities. Staff were kind and patient with people who were living with dementia and who were not able to express their needs.

Staff were trained and supported and delivered care which met people's needs. Staff understood people's needs and preferences and respected their choices.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and to find out the views of people who used the service and their representatives.

We found that staff supported people appropriately and spoke to them in a friendly and respectful manner. Staff spent time with people talking with them and encouraging them to be involved in activities. Staff were kind and patient with people who were living with dementia and who were not able to express their needs. Staff were trained and supported and delivered care which met people's needs. Staff understood people's needs and preferences and respected their choices.