St Katharine's House

Updated 29 March 2023

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

The inspection team consisted of 4 inspectors and an Expert by Experience. 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 Katharines House 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 Katharines House is a care home with nursing care. 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.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. 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. This information helps support our inspections. We reviewed the provider’s last inspection report. We looked at notifications received from the provider. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. This ensured we were addressing any areas of concern. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 6 people who used the service and 7 relatives. Some people living in the home could not verbally give us feedback. As such we looked around the home and observed the way staff interacted with people. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We received feedback from 2 healthcare professionals. We looked at 12 people's care records and 9 medicine administration records (MAR). We spoke with the regional manager, registered manager, deputy manager and 11 members of staff including carers, the chef, kitchen staff, domestic staff, maintenance person and activities coordinator.

We reviewed a range of records relating to people's care and the way the service was managed. These included staff training records, 5 staff recruitment files, quality assurance audits, incidents and accidents reports, complaints records, and records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 29 March 2023

About the service

St Katharines House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 76 people. The service provides support to older people across 3 wings, some of who lived with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 61 people using the service.

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

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. Staff understood when the principles of the Mental Capacity Act should be applied. However, we found recording of mental capacity assessments could be improved.

We have made a recommendation about recording in line with the principles of the MCA.

People told us they felt safe living at St Katharines. Staff knew how to identify and report any concerns. The provider continued to recruit staff and had safe recruitment and selection processes in place.

Risks to people's safety and well-being were managed through a risk management process. There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people's needs. Medicines were managed safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed.

People received personalised care, tailored to their individual needs and preferences, and staff supported people and their relatives to be involved with decisions relating to their care. People were supported to take part in a variety of activities and hobbies both internal and external. People's communication needs were known and met by staff who knew people well. People, their relatives and staff were asked for their opinions of the service and action was taken to make improvements. Complaints were recorded and investigated.

The home was well-led by a registered manager who was committed to improving people’s quality of life. They, and the provider had made significant improvements and had further plans to continuously improve people's care. There was a clear management structure in place and staff worked well as a team. The provider had clear oversight of the service and effective quality assurance systems in place that they used to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Staff worked well with external social and health care professionals.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (Published 18 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.

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 30 May 2019.

We undertook this focused inspection to check the provider had made improvements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Responsive and Well-led. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for St Katharines House 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.