St Helens Hall and Lodge

St Helen’s Hall and Lodge is a residential care home providing personal care to 74 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The home has 2 units, The Lodge which can accommodate 56 people on two floors and The Hall which can accommodate 38 people on 2 floors.

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

The majority of medicines were managed safety, however we have made a recommendation about the management of ‘as and when’ medicines.

Feedback we received from health and social care professionals, people and relatives was positive.

The recruitment of staff was safe and there were enough staff on duty on the day of inspection to meet people's needs. Risks to people's health and safety had been assessed and mitigated and equipment had been serviced and maintained. Accidents and incidents were recorded and reviewed in order to minimise the risk of reoccurrence.

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.

We observed support being provided in the home and saw that this was done in a caring, responsive and patient manner. We saw that people were comfortable in the presence of staff and positive relationships had developed between people receiving support and staff.

Care plans and risk assessments were person centred and they detailed how people wished and needed to be cared for. They were regularly reviewed and updated as required. We saw evidence of how the registered manager and staff ensured people beliefs, choices and rights were respected.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 5 September 2019.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.

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.

We found the following examples of good practice.

Visitors were able to spend time seeing and speaking with loved ones in many different ways. The home had created partitioned visiting pods in both the Hall and Lodge, where residents and relatives could see and speak to each other. Also at the time of the inspection there was a process in place so that a visitor could enter the home and sit safely with their relative, as per recent government guidance. Everyone entering the building was screened to ensure they did not have symptoms of Covid-19.

The building had been adapted to ensure good practices of infection prevention and control and maintain social distancing as much as possible. Tables in the dining room had been removed so that less people were eating at the same time. People could eat in their own rooms if they wished and more smaller public spaces had been introduced so that less people congregated together. The home had also introduced more areas for staff to relax and eat at break times.

We observed many areas around the home where personal protective equipment (PPE) could be put on and disposed of safely to minimise the spread of infection. There were areas for visitors to wash their hands and put on or remove their PPE. The home had been innovative in finding different ways to maintain a non-clinical appearance around the home by using furniture to house PPE equipment.

COVID-19 testing was undertaken twice weekly for staff (or more when required) and monthly for residents who were able and willing. There were process and procedures in place to manage positive results and we saw evidence of this at the time of inspection. There was a programme in place to ensure that staff and people residing at the home were vaccinated and a process to assess and mitigate risk if anyone declined the vaccination.

Stocks of the right standard of personal protective equipment (PPE) were well-maintained and staff used and disposed of it correctly. Staff had been trained in infection control practices and up to date information and guidance and support was provided by the local council. There was also evidence of good working relationships between health and social care when required and residents received ongoing support from two consistent GP practices.

We were assured that this service met good infection prevention and control guidelines as a designated care setting.