CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Santa Care
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, November 2018
Santa Care was rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with only a minor bathroom lock repair noted.
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection on 10 October 2018. One inspector observed care, spoke with all five people living there, staff, a relative and professionals, and checked care records, staff files, audits and policies.
All five areas were rated Good: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. People said they felt safe, were happy living there and were satisfied with their care. Inspectors found suitable staffing, safe medicines arrangements, personalised care plans, kind staff and activities that matched people's interests.
The home had previously been rated Requires Improvement in Safe in March 2016 because there were not enough staff. A follow-up visit in December 2016 found that staffing had improved. At this inspection, inspectors found no breaches of regulations and gave the home an overall Good rating.
Personalised care
Care plans were written around each person's needs, preferences and communication style. People were involved in developing and reviewing them.
“People's care plans were up to date and personalised.” from the report
Safe staffing and medicines
Staffing was organised around people's needs, including support for appointments and activities. Medicines records showed that people received their medicines as prescribed.
“People's medicine administration records (MAR) showed that people had received their medicines as prescribed.” from the report
Choice and independence
People were supported to make everyday choices and build skills through activities such as shopping, cooking and cleaning.
“Staff promoted people's independence and the development of skills by involving them in a range of day to day activities such as shopping, cooking and cleaning.” from the report
Activities and community links
People could take part in activities at home and in the community, including voluntary work, shopping, walks and holidays.
“People had the opportunity to choose, plan and take part in a range of activities that met their interests and needs.” from the report
Improved monitoring
The provider had improved quality checks and had created a development plan covering future improvements.
“Since the last inspection the provider had improved and developed the arrangements for monitoring and improving the quality of the service provided to people.” from the report
Bathroom lock
minorOne bathroom lock needed repair, which could affect privacy. Staff said it had only recently become faulty and would arrange the repair.
“We noted that a lock in one bathroom needed repair.” from the report
- 01What action was taken to repair the bathroom lock, and are all bathroom locks now working properly?
- 02How do you make sure staffing remains sufficient when people need one-to-one support, appointments or activities?
- 03How are people involved in reviewing their care plans and making decisions about their daily lives?
- 04How do you check that medicines continue to be given and recorded correctly?
- 05What improvements have been made since the development plan and the 2018 inspection?
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering the home, the care provided and all five CQC questions. This explanation was written from the published report of 6 November 2018 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
What inspectors found, January 2017
Santa Care is rated Good overall, but Safe remains Requires Improvement; staffing improved and the earlier legal breach was resolved.
This was an unannounced, focused inspection on 1 December 2016. It checked whether the home had enough staff, after an earlier inspection found too few staff to keep people safe and support them properly.
Inspectors found that an extra care worker had been added on some days. This meant people had more support to go out, attend appointments, take part in activities and receive help at busy times.
The earlier legal requirement had been met. Safe remained rated Requires Improvement because inspectors wanted to see a longer period of consistently good practice before increasing the rating. The overall service rating was Good.
More staff available
The home added an extra care worker on relevant days. This gave people more support with activities and helped staff take proper breaks.
“The provider had provided an additional care worker to work in the service each day” from the report
Support to go out
People had more opportunities to go for walks, shop, attend appointments, visit places of worship and join social activities.
“People's individual activity records showed that staffing arrangements were flexible” from the report
People felt safer
People told inspectors they were happy and that there were enough staff to support them to go out if they wished.
“People told us they were happy living in the home and there were enough staff to enable them to have the opportunity to go out if they wished.” from the report
Improvement confirmed
Inspectors found that the provider had followed its action plan and had met the legal requirement linked to staffing.
“At our focused inspection on 1 December 2016 we found that the provider had followed the action plan they had written” from the report
Previous staffing shortfall
seriousAt the earlier inspection, one care worker was sometimes working alone while supporting several people. This meant some people could not get the outings and support they needed, and the worker could not take a suitable break.
“there had been insufficient staff deployed in order for people who required support from staff to go out if they wished and to keep people safe.” from the report
- 01How will you make sure the additional care worker is available whenever people need support to go out?
- 02What staffing arrangements are used on days when people do not attend a day resource centre?
- 03How do you make sure staff can take their breaks while people remain safe and supported?
- 04How do you review staffing if people's needs, behaviour or planned activities change?
- 05How will you show that the improved staffing arrangements have continued over time?
This was an unannounced focused inspection of Safe only, following an earlier staffing breach; the other four questions were not assessed. This explanation was written from the published report of 5 January 2017 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Santa Care
3 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- November 2018Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- January 2017Goodstayed GoodSafe: Requires improvement
- April 2016GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- December 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 19 January 2011.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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