Archived: St George's House

Updated 16 December 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection was carried out on 14 November 2016 and was unannounced. The inspection team comprised of an inspector, a bank inspector in adult social care 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.

Before the inspection we reviewed relevant information that we had about the provider including any notifications of safeguarding or incidents affecting the safety and wellbeing of people. We also made contact with the local authority and health and social professionals that may have had involvement with the home.

During the inspection we spoke with four people, one relative, five staff members, the registered manager and the locality manager. We observed interactions between people and staff members to ensure that the relationship between staff and people was positive and caring.

We spent some time looking at documents and records that related to people’s care and the management of the home. We looked at seven people’s care plans, which included risk assessments.

We reviewed five staff files which included training and supervision records. We looked at other documents held at the home such as medicine records, quality assurance audits and residents and staff meeting minutes.

Updated 16 December 2016

This inspection was carried out on 14 November 2016 and was unannounced.

During our inspection on 12 August 2015 we found that systems in place for storing and administration of medicines were not appropriate to ensure safety and effectiveness. Support plans were not always personalised or reviewed regularly. Regular checks and audits of service quality and delivery were not being carried out effectively. The home was in breach of Regulation 9, 12 and 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

St George's House provides residential care for men and women with mental health issues. The service focuses on a three phase rehabilitation programme to support people to move to more independent accommodation. There were 23 beds, and 9 people were staying at the home during the inspection.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and the associated regulations on how the service is run.

Staff were trained in safeguarding adults and had a good understanding in keeping people safe. They knew how to recognise abuse and who to report to and understood how to whistle blow. Whistleblowing is when someone who works for an employer raises a concern about harm, or a risk of harm, to people who use the service. There were policies and procedures in place for staff to follow.

There was enough staff to support people safely and to meet their individual needs.

Assessments were undertaken to assess any risks to people living at the home and steps were taken to minimise potential risks and to safeguard people from harm.

Medicines were stored, administered and recorded correctly.

Safe recruitment procedures were in place that ensured staff were suitable to work with people, as staff had undergone the required checks before starting to work at the service.

Care plans were personalised to the people using the service. People were involved in planning of care and the care plans were then signed by people to ensure they were happy with the care and support listed on the care plan.

People had access to healthcare services such as the GP and dentists.

Systems were in place to ensure staff received regular supervision and appraisal. Staff received induction training and also received regular training to ensure that people were safe and the care provided was effective.

Complaints were managed appropriately and people were aware on how to make complaints.

People participated in a number of activities such as DVD nights, gardening and cooking workshops.

People's privacy and dignity was maintained. People were independent and we saw people moving freely around the house and were able to go to their rooms and outside without interruption.

Systems were in place for quality assurance. Regular audits were being carried out by the management team with actions listed for improvement.

Questionnaires were completed by people about the service. Outcomes were generally positive and covered important aspects on staff, safety, complaints and dignity.