CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at St Dominics Residential Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, January 2019
St Dominics Residential Home was rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care across all five areas.
The inspection was unannounced and took place on 8 January 2019. One inspector spoke with people, relatives and staff, observed care, and checked care files and other records.
The home was rated Good overall. Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led were all rated Good. Inspectors found enough trained staff, safe medicine systems, suitable care plans and good support with food, healthcare and activities.
People and relatives spoke positively about the home. Staff were seen treating people with kindness, respect and compassion. The manager used audits, feedback and meetings to monitor and improve the service.
The previous inspection was also rated Good. This was a planned inspection based on that rating. The report says the CQC will continue to monitor information about the home.
Kind and respectful care
Staff knew people's needs and preferences and were seen building warm relationships. People were supported with dignity and encouraged to remain independent.
“We saw that staff had good relationships with people and throughout the inspection we saw staff chatting and laughing with people whilst showing kindness and compassion.” from the report
Safe staffing and medicines
The home used a dependency tool to plan staffing and inspectors found enough staff. Only trained and competent staff supported people with medicines, with regular checks.
“People received care from a consistent staff team who had the skills to deliver high quality care.” from the report
Personalised care
Care plans described people's needs, preferences and routines. They were reviewed and updated when people's needs changed.
“People's care plans were detailed and had information about people's specific needs, their personal preferences, routines and how staff should best support them to live happy, contented lives.” from the report
Activities and community links
People had access to varied activities, trips and outside entertainers. The home also supported people to follow their faith and keep family relationships.
“We saw throughout the day a number of activities which people were enjoying including quizzes, board games, and discussions.” from the report
Strong oversight
The management team monitored care through audits, meetings, handovers and feedback from people, relatives, staff and health professionals.
“The registered manager had a number of quality monitoring systems in place to continually review and improve the quality of the service provided to people.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How will you assess and review my relative's care needs and personal preferences before they move in?
- 02How many staff are usually on duty during the day and at night, and how do you adjust this when people's needs change?
- 03What training and checks do staff who administer medicines receive, and how are medicine errors identified and reviewed?
- 04What activities would be suitable for my relative, and how could they continue their usual interests, faith and family relationships?
- 05How will you involve my relative and our family in decisions about care, including future end of life care?
This was an unannounced planned inspection of the overall service, covering all five CQC questions, and all five areas were rated Good. This explanation was written from the published report of 22 January 2019 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
Rated Good; this focused inspection found improved fire safety and appropriate action after a medicines error.
Inspectors made an unannounced, focused visit on 24 November 2016. The home provides personal care for up to 39 older people, including some people living with dementia. There were 37 people living there.
The visit checked whether the home had improved its fire safety after the previous inspection. Bedroom door wedges had been replaced with automatic door closures. Inspectors found this reduced the risk to people and helped keep escape routes safe.
People had personal emergency evacuation plans. Staff understood how much help each person needed and had received fire safety training. The home had also taken appropriate action after a medicines error, including further training and disciplinary procedures.
The overall rating was Good, and the Safe question was rated Good. This report only covered safety, so it does not provide new ratings for the other four areas.
Improved fire safety
The home replaced door wedges with automatic closures that operated when the fire alarm sounded. This helped protect escape routes while allowing people to keep their doors open when requested.
“The use of these self-closing devices reduced the potential risk to people, as it allowed for safe evacuation” from the report
Evacuation planning
Each person had a personal emergency evacuation plan. Staff understood the traffic light system showing how much help people needed to leave safely.
“Records showed that each person had a personal emergency evacuation plan, which provided staff, and if required emergency services, information on the level of support a person would need to evacuate safely.” from the report
Action after medicines error
The home took steps to protect the person involved and reduce the risk of the error happening again. These steps included further training and disciplinary procedures.
“The management had learnt from the experience and taken action by organising further training and instigating their disciplinary procedures” from the report
Positive view of new manager
Staff gave positive feedback about the new manager, who was described as approachable and committed to improvement.
“approachable and committed to driving continuous improvement within the service.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01What further changes were made after the medicines error, and how do you check that the learning has been followed?
- 02Which bedroom doors have automatic closures, and how do you respond when a resident asks to keep their door open?
- 03Has the new manager's application to become registered with the CQC now been completed?
- 04How often are personal emergency evacuation plans reviewed and practised with staff?
- 05How do staff use the traffic light markers to make sure each resident receives the right help during an evacuation?
This was an unannounced focused inspection of Safe only, checking fire safety improvements and the response to a medicines error; the other ratings were not reassessed in this report. This explanation was written from the published report of 7 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 St Dominics Residential Home
3 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- January 2019Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
Read what inspectors found at St Dominics Residential Home →
- January 2017Goodstayed GoodSafe: Good
Read what inspectors found at St Dominics Residential Home →
- January 2016GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2015
Report published without a new overall rating.
- October 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- August 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 18 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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