St George's Nursing Home

Updated 15 February 2024

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.

Inspection team

Two inspectors, 1 medicines inspector and an Expert by Experience carried out 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 Georges Nursing 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. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced. We visited the location on the 5 December 2023 and 5 January 2024.

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. The provider was not asked to complete a 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 5 people who used the service and 4 relatives. We spoke with the registered manager, and we received 12 staff questionnaires. We reviewed a range of records, this included 4 people's care records, 9 medicines administration records and 3 staff records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were also reviewed.

Updated 15 February 2024

About the service

St George's Nursing Home is a care home providing nursing and personal care to 24 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom were living with the experience of dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 22 people using the service.

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

Medicines were not always managed safely. Risks to people had not always been assessed and planned for. Staff were not always recruited safely. We made a recommendation to the provider to review their practice.

People's privacy and dignity were not always respected. People did not always receive care in a person-centred way.

The registered manager had audits and quality assurance processes in place, but they were still working to embed and sustain the improvements which were required.

People were not happy with the food they received, and they told us it was cold. The home was undergoing an extensive programme of repairs to modernise it. Health professionals visited the home regularly.

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.

There was enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff understood how to safeguard people from the risk of harm. The provider had good infection control practices in place. The registered manager was learning from accidents and incidents. People and their relatives spoke positively about the activities.

People’s needs were assessed before they moved into the home. People and their relatives were very happy with the care they received. Staff were friendly, caring, kind and supportive and the registered manager was approachable.

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 the service under the previous provider was good published on 07 March 2018.

Why we inspected

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

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

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches of regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, person centred care and meeting people’s nutritional and hydration needs. We made a recommendation regarding staffing.

Follow up

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