Archived: St Rita's Care Home

St Rita's Care Home is registered to provide care with nursing for up to sixty older people. All bedrooms were single and en-suite. The home was full at the time of the inspection.

People required a range of support in relation to living with dementia, nursing and personal care needs.

The home is purpose built with a range of communal rooms. The home has a passenger lift to assist people to access all areas of the building.

This was an unannounced inspection which took place on 1 December 2015.

St Rita's Care Home had a registered manager. 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.

The registered manager was in day to day charge of the home, supported by the provider. People and staff spoke highly of the registered manager. People told us that they felt supported by staff and knew that there was always someone available to support them when needed. One person said, “I didn’t know that such kindness existed really.”

We received positive feedback from people, staff, relatives and visiting professionals. Everyone told us that the manager was committed to ensuring people received the best care possible. This was supported by clear up to date care documentation which was personalised and regularly reviewed.

Staff felt that training provided was effective and ensured they were able to provide the best care for people. Staff were encouraged to attend further training in a range of areas. New care staff were supported to achieve the Care Certificate and staff held the National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) or similar.

Medicine administration, documentation and policies were in place. These followed best practice guidelines to ensure people received their medicines safely. Regular auditing and checks were carried out to ensure high standards were maintained.

There were robust systems in place to assess the quality of the service. Maintenance, including all equipment and services to the building, had been checked regularly. Fire evacuation plans and personal evacuation procedure information was in place in event of an emergency evacuation.

There a programme of supervision and appraisals for staff. One member of staff said, “We get feedback about the job that we are doing. I come to work with a smile and I leave with a smile.” Staffing levels were reviewed regularly. Robust recruitment checks were completed before staff began work.

Care plans and risk assessments had been completed to ensure people received appropriate care. Care plans identified all health care needs and were reviewed regularly to ensure information was up to date and relevant. One member of staff said, “We are the first point of contact for residents. We see when things are changing and can suggest to the registered nurses if we think a reassessment is needed. They then talk to the manager if it’s necessary. It’s all part of the teamwork approach.”

People’s mental health and capacity were assessed and reviewed with information in care files to inform staff of people’s individual needs. People were asked for their consent before care was provided and had their privacy and dignity respected.

People were encouraged to remain as independent as possible and supported to participate in daily activities. Staff treated people with respect and dignity and involved people in decisions about how they spent their time.

Staff demonstrated a clear understanding on how to recognise and report abuse.

Feedback was gained from people and their relatives. It included questionnaires that sought people’s views of the home. Regular residents and staff meetings were held with minutes available for people to access.

People’s nutritional needs were monitored and reviewed. People had a choice of meals provided and staff knew people’s likes and dislikes. People gave positive feedback about the food and visitors told us they had eaten with their relative and found the food to be of a very high standard. One relative said, “It’s the little things like the menu on the dining table. [My relative] always reads it. It means so much that assumptions aren’t made just because some people probably can’t read it.”

Referrals were made appropriately to outside agencies when required, for example to community nurses and speech and language therapists (SALT). And notifications had been completed to inform CQC and other outside organisations when events occurred.