CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at St Aubyns Nursing Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors were assured that the home had appropriate infection prevention and control arrangements. They found effective use of protective equipment, testing, cleaning, isolation and visiting procedures.
- Effective?
- Good
- Does the care work? Training, consent, food and drink, working with GPs and nurses.
- Caring?
- Good
- Are people treated with kindness and dignity?
- Responsive?
- Good
- Is care built around the person? Care plans, activities, complaints.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Is the home run well? The manager, the culture, how problems get found and fixed.
What inspectors found, February 2022
Inspected but not rated; inspectors found strong COVID-19 infection controls and enough staffing measures during the targeted visit.
Inspectors visited the home on 11 February 2022. The visit was announced and focused on infection control, visiting arrangements and any staffing pressures linked to COVID-19.
They found the home was clean. Visitors and staff used appropriate protective equipment and followed hand washing and distancing guidance. The home had testing, isolation and cleaning arrangements in place.
The manager said there had been enough staff throughout the pandemic. The provider used regular agency staff, checked vaccination status and trained staff in COVID-19, infection control and protective equipment.
The service was inspected but not rated. This means the report gives findings from this focused visit, rather than a full overall quality rating.
Infection control
The home used screening, hand washing, protective equipment and social distancing for visitors. Inspectors were assured that infection risks were being managed.
“We were assured the service was following appropriate infection prevention and control procedures to keep people safe.” from the report
Clean environment
Inspectors found the home was clean and saw a cleaning schedule supported by a housekeeping team.
“The home was very clean throughout.” from the report
Staffing arrangements
The provider said there had been enough staff throughout the pandemic. It used agency staff who worked only at this home and provided relevant training.
“They block booked agency staff that only worked at St Aubyn's.” from the report
Visiting
The home was facilitating visits in line with current guidance, and the manager said there were no visiting restrictions at the time.
“The provider was facilitating visits for people living in the home in accordance with the current guidance.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are you currently checking visitors and staff for infection symptoms?
- 02How do you make sure there are enough permanent and agency staff to meet residents' needs?
- 03Are agency staff still working only at this home, and what infection control training do they receive?
- 04How are COVID-19 testing and isolation arrangements managed now?
- 05What are the current visiting arrangements, including any restrictions during an outbreak?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and COVID-19-related staffing pressures; it did not provide a full overall rating. This explanation was written from the published report of 23 February 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.
What inspectors found, February 2020
St Aubyns Nursing Home was rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and well-organised care, with building work still taking place.
This was an unannounced inspection on 27 and 30 January 2020. The inspectors spoke with seven people, four relatives, six staff members and a visiting healthcare professional. They also checked care and medicines records, staff files and management records.
All five areas were rated Good: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines management, suitable training, personalised care plans and good support with food, activities and healthcare.
The home had systems for complaints, safeguarding, infection control and checking the quality of care. Building work to extend the home was nearing completion. The previous inspection rating was also Good, published on 11 August 2017.
Enough staff
Inspectors saw staffing levels that met people's needs. People, relatives and staff also said there were always enough staff available.
“We observed that staffing levels at the home were meeting people's needs.” from the report
Medicines managed safely
Medicines were stored securely and records were complete during the inspection. Staff who gave medicines had been trained and assessed as competent.
“We saw MAR records had been completed in full and there were no gaps.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
People and relatives gave positive feedback about staff. Staff explained care, asked for consent and supported people's privacy and independence.
“Staff maintained people's independence as much as possible by supporting them to manage as many aspects of their own care that they could.” from the report
Personalised activities
The home offered activities including music, reminiscence, arts and crafts, exercise and visits from entertainers. Staff also spent time with people in communal areas and their rooms.
“Activities included reminiscence, arts and crafts, skittles, music and sing a long, armchair exercise and visiting entertainers such as singers and pet therapists.” from the report
Active quality checks
The provider carried out regular audits and safety checks. Actions were identified when needed, and the home sought views through surveys and residents' forums.
“Audits were up to date and actions were taken when necessary to ensure that care was provided in the right way.” from the report
Building work was ongoing
minorExtension work was still taking place and was described as nearing completion. Ask how this affected residents during the work and when it was expected to finish.
“There was building work taking place to extend the home. This work nearing completion.” from the report
Recent medicines recommendations
needs fixingA local authority visit had made recommendations shortly before the inspection. The home said some recommendations had already been completed, including updates to medicines records.
“The action plan confirmed that some of the recommendations had already been addressed in full for example nursing staff had updated people's medicines records.” from the report
- 01What work from the home extension remained unfinished, and how would you protect residents from disruption while it was completed?
- 02What medicines-record recommendations were made by the local authority, and how are you checking that the records stay accurate?
- 03How would you provide end of life care if my relative needed it, working with the GP, hospice and family?
- 04How would you tailor activities to my relative's interests, communication needs and abilities?
- 05How often would my relative's electronic care plan and risk assessments be reviewed if their needs changed?
This was an unannounced inspection covering all five CQC questions, and all five ratings remained Good from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 20 February 2020 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 St Aubyns Nursing Home
3 rated inspections over 4 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- February 2022Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- February 2020Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- August 2017Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- July 2016Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Good
- April 2015
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 17 April 2015.
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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