The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has dropped the rating for St Georges Court Care Home from good to inadequate following inspections in June and July.
St Georges Court Care Home, run by St. Georges Court Healthcare Limited, provides personal and nursing care for up to 76 older people. This inspection was prompted by concerns CQC received about people not always receiving safe and dignified care.
As well as the home dropping from good to inadequate overall, it has also dropped from good to inadequate for being well-led. It has dropped from requires improvement to inadequate for being safe. It has dropped from good to requires improvement for being effective, caring, and responsive.
To support its improvement and to ensure people’s safety, CQC has placed the service in special measures. This means it is being closely monitored and will be inspected again to assess whether it has addressed the issues inspectors identified.
Gill Hodgson-Reilly, CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, said:
“When we inspected St Georges Court, we were disappointed to find leaders hadn’t made sure staff always had the skills, knowledge and confidence to support people’s needs and provide people with safe and dignified care.
“In particular, we found that while staff had received training on how to care for people with dementia, leaders hadn’t ensured this was fully understood and embedded into care at the home, which had resulted in multiple incidents.
“When incidents did occur, we found staff didn’t always record them promptly or accurately, and lessons weren’t always learned to protect people in future. In one incident, we found staff had failed to monitor a person following a fall, and they were later found to have fractured a bone, but an investigation report by the provider identified no learning or actions for the future.
“We also found the home environment wasn’t always clean or well-maintained. The inspection team found one person eating in the same room as soiled bedding and saw a staff member supporting someone’s toileting needs without closing the door. This is unsafe, undignified, and an unacceptable way to treat people.
“Leaders lacked oversight of this home, meaning they were unable to identify these issues and develop solutions. While the provider quickly took action to respond to many of our concerns during this inspection, it will take time to ensure these improvements are embedded.
“We’ll continue to closely monitor this service to ensure people are being cared for safely and will return to check that the necessary improvements have been made."
Inspectors also found:
- Staff didn’t always support people with basic personal care such as cleaning their teeth and nails
- Leaders had failed to ensure staff understood safeguarding training, and inspectors raised multiple safeguarding concerns to the local authority around neglect, poor care and harm
- Care plans and risk assessments weren’t always detailed or up to date, which could put people’s safety at risk. For example, one person at increased risk of choking was recorded as low risk
- Staff didn’t always manage people’s medicines safely, and stock records weren’t always accurate
- Leaders hadn’t identified areas of the home which could be dangerous, particularly for people with dementia, such as unlocked electrical cupboards
- People living with dementia weren’t always supported to participate in activities in order to spend their day meaningfully.
However:
- People and their loved ones said they felt safe in the home
- Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible
- The provider encouraged people’s loved ones to visit the home, and staff made people’s visitors feel welcome.