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CQC report explained · a residential care home

What the CQC found at St Antony's Care Home

Goodpublished 20 November 2024, 22 months ago

Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.

The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, March 2022

Inspected but not rated; inspectors found good infection control and hygiene arrangements at St Antony's Care Home.

This was an announced, targeted inspection on 8 February 2022. Inspectors looked mainly at infection prevention and control during the coronavirus pandemic. They also asked about staffing pressures.

Inspectors found the home was clean and hygienic. They were assured that the home used protective equipment safely, supported testing and vaccinations, managed visits, and had an up-to-date infection control policy.

The service was inspected but not rated. This means the visit did not give the home an overall quality rating or a rated score for Safe.

What inspectors praised
  • Clean and hygienic home

    Inspectors found the home clean and hygienic, with systems to maintain good hygiene.

    “The home was clean and hygienic. Systems were in place to ensure good levels of hygiene.” from the report
  • Infection control checks

    The home carried out regular infection control audits and kept its policy up to date.

    “Regular Infection Prevention Control (IPC) audits were undertaken. Managers kept up with with current guidance and knew who to contact if they needed advice around IPC.” from the report
  • Protective equipment and training

    Staff had access to protective equipment and training on using it and preventing infection.

    “Staff had access to supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and had received training to ensure they used this correctly.” from the report
  • Managed visiting arrangements

    Visits could continue through advance booking and a negative lateral flow test.

    “Visits could be booked in advance and were facilitated following a negative lateral flow test result.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about

Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.

Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01What infection prevention and control arrangements are in place now, and when were they last reviewed?
  2. 02How are staffing pressures monitored, and what action is taken if COVID-19 or other absences affect staffing?
  3. 03What are the current rules for visits, including testing and visiting during an infection outbreak?
  4. 04How are new admissions tested and kept safe from infection?
  5. 05What training and checks do staff receive on using protective equipment?

This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control and staffing pressures; the service was inspected but not rated. This explanation was written from the published report of 3 March 2022 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.

An earlier report, explained

What inspectors found, January 2018

St Antony's Care Home was rated Good; inspectors found kind, safe care, with some records and activities needing further development.

Inspectors visited on 6 and 18 October 2017. The first visit was unannounced. They spoke with people living at the home, staff, managers, health professionals and relatives. They observed care, checked records, medicines, recruitment, the building and management systems.

The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. People said they felt safe and were treated kindly. Inspectors found suitable staffing, safe medicines management, trained staff, support with health needs and systems for handling concerns.

The home remained Good overall, the same as at the March 2016 inspection. Responsive care improved from Requires Improvement to Good. Inspectors still asked the home to make some care records more personalised, improve activities outside the home and strengthen some management records.

What inspectors praised
  • Kind and respectful care

    Inspectors observed staff being kind, respectful and attentive. People were offered choices and their privacy and dignity were protected.

    “Our observations showed staff were kind, caring and treated people with respect.” from the report
  • Safe medicines and staffing

    The home had enough staff to meet people's needs. Medicines were stored securely, given correctly and checked.

    “Regular checks were carried out to make sure people were receiving the right medicine at the right time and that accurate records were kept by staff.” from the report
  • Staff training and health support

    Staff had relevant training, induction, supervision and appraisals. People were supported to keep healthy and to use healthcare services.

    “People were supported to keep healthy and had access to appropriate health care professionals when needed.” from the report
  • Open management and teamwork

    Staff said managers were approachable and that they worked well together. The home used audits, meetings and feedback to monitor its service.

    “There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service being provided.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • Capacity records

    needs fixing

    Capacity assessments were not always tailored to the specific decision being considered. The manager was told about this during the inspection.

    “Care records included assessments of capacity although it was noted that these were generic in content and not decision specific.” from the report
  • Personalised care plans

    needs fixing

    Some support plans focused mainly on physical and health care. Inspectors asked the home to describe emotional wellbeing and individual needs more fully.

    “The plans differed as to how individualised they were with many focusing mainly on the health and physical care provided.” from the report
  • Activities and outings

    needs fixing

    Some people wanted more trips outside the home and a relative wondered about more stimulation. The manager agreed to review activities in and outside the home.

    “Some people using the service said they would welcome more trips outside the home.” from the report
  • Management records

    minor

    An annual development plan was not available. Inspectors also discussed adding a manager sign-off section to incident and accident records.

    “An annual development plan was not available at the time of inspection and we discussed this with the registered manager.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01What changes have you made to provide more activities and trips outside the home?
  2. 02How do current care plans describe each person's emotional wellbeing, preferences and daily routines?
  3. 03How do you make sure capacity assessments relate to the specific decision being made?
  4. 04Has the annual development plan now been completed, and what improvements does it include?
  5. 05How are incidents and accidents checked and signed off by the manager?

This was a planned inspection covering all five quality areas, with the first visit unannounced; the Responsive rating improved to Good and the other ratings remained Good. This explanation was written from the published report of 27 January 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.

The story over the years

Every inspection of St Antony's Care Home

2 rated inspections over 2 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.

  1. March 2022Inspected but not ratedcurrent rating
    Safe: Inspected but not rated

    Read what inspectors found at St Antony's Care Home →

  2. January 2018Goodstayed Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at St Antony's Care Home →

  3. April 2016Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Good

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  4. June 2014

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  5. October 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  6. July 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  7. March 2013

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 12 March 2013.

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.

Next steps

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