We carried out a review of the data available to us about St Clair Gardens on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about St Clair Gardens, you can give feedback on this service.
St Clair Gardens is a care home with nursing providing mental health recovery support to up to 14 people. The service provides support to adults. At the time of our inspection there were 12 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Following a review of St Clair Gardens, a concern had been raised about staffing. In particular the new role of enhanced support worker. Staff in this role could be left in charge of the unit if no qualified nurse was available on site.
We found that staff providing this role were well trained, competent and received regular support and supervision. They always had a qualified nurse on call if they needed advice. Staff understood the protocol and the limitations of the role and it was clear they were only left in charge if all other options such as using agency staff had been tried first.
Staff felt the benefits of the additional training allowed them to provide continuity to people and a higher degree of understanding of the support and care they needed to provide.
The management team had put a policy and protocol in place and regularly reviewed the role, with input from staff, so that they could learn and make improvements as they needed to.
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 24 August 2019).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
We undertook this targeted inspection to check on a specific concern we had about the role of the enhanced support worker, being used to cover the home when registered nurses were unavailable to be on site and to look at the governance of this issue. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains good.
We use targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
St Clair Gardens is a care home that provides care for up to 14 older and younger adults who are living with a mental health diagnosis. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. At the time of the inspection 12 people were living at St Clair Gardens.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found:
Everyone we spoke with praised the management and staff for the quality of the service provided. 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.
People were safe from abuse and avoidable harm. There were effective safeguarding procedures in place which staff followed. Staff knew how and who to report any concerns to. There were enough staff to support people safely. There were systems in place for any absence of staff and managers, so people continued to receive their support as planned.
Staff were recruited safely and had the right skills and experience to meet people’s needs. The environment was clean, well maintained and a safe place for people to live. Evacuation procedures were robust in the event of an emergency.
Staff followed infection prevention and control procedures to reduce risk of infection and people received their medicines as required.
People’s needs, and choices were assessed before they used the service. Risks to people’s health and well-being were managed. Staff received training and updates on best practice guidelines that were appropriate to people they supported.
People were supported with kind and compassionate care. Staff protected people’s dignity and confidentiality discreetly. Staff were sensitive to people’s individual needs and they understood how best to support people. Relationships between people and staff were positive. Changes to people’s health were reported and monitored, and staff supported people to their appointments.
Support was person centred and delivered the way people preferred and met their individual needs. Staff understood people’s needs with regards to the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010. Information was available to people in accessible formats and staff knew people’s communication needs and understood how best to engage people.
People were involved with activities, hobbies, and interests of their choosing. The atmosphere in the home was warm and friendly and people were happy in their surroundings.
People knew how to make a complaint and would feel confident doing so. People had opportunity to meet with the registered manager to discuss any concerns. Visitors were warmly welcomed at times suitable to them.
The service was managed well and there was an effective quality assurance processes in place. Action plans were developed following any shortfalls in the service and the registered manager worked closely with health and social care services.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 11 May 2018 and this was the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.