20 July 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
St Thomas Complex is a care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 52 people. The service provides support to older people including people who live with a dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 29 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
There were sufficient staff to support people safely. We have made a recommendation about ensuring staffing levels and staff deployment are kept under review on the lower ground floor of the home to ensure people are kept engaged and stimulated if they wish.
Staff had received safeguarding training and were clear on how and when to raise their concerns. Where appropriate, actions were taken to keep people safe. Staff contacted health professionals when people’s health needs changed.
Staff followed effective processes to assess and provide the support people needed to take their medicines safely. We have made a recommendation about protocols for the use of ‘when required’ medicines, where prescribed.
People and relatives were very complimentary about the care provided by staff. They trusted the staff who supported them. They said staff were kind, caring and supportive of people and their families. Their comments included, “I can’t recommend the place enough, I was rock bottom before [Name] came in, it is a God send”, and “Staff are lovely, they are so lovely and friendly. They have time to talk with me.”
Staff followed good infection control practices. A programme of refurbishment was taking place around the home.
Records provided guidance to ensure people received safe, person-centred care and support from all staff members. Staff spoke very positively about working at the home and the people they cared for. They said communication was effective to ensure they were kept up-to-date about any changes in people’s care and support needs.
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.
A quality assurance system was in place, to assess the standards of care in the service. We have made a recommendation regarding the external governance of the service.
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 9 March 2018).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
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 remained good based on the findings of this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for St Thomas Complex on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Recommendations
We have made a recommendation to keep staffing levels and staff deployment under review on the lower ground floor.
We have made a recommendation about the management of some medicines.
We have made a recommendation that regular visits to the service by the provider, or their representative should resume, to provide external checks of the service.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.