CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at St. Giles Care Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm, with suitable risk assessments, staffing and safeguarding arrangements. However, inspectors found problems with recording when barrier creams were opened and with some hygiene standards.
- Effective?
- Good
- People's needs were assessed and staff had training to support them. People received suitable food and drink, healthcare support and help to make decisions.
- Caring?
- Good
- Inspectors saw kind and respectful interactions. People were offered choices and their privacy, dignity, communication needs and preferences were considered.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care plans were personalised and reviewed. People had activities, support to maintain relationships, timely responses to complaints and end of life care plans where needed.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The management team monitored quality, listened to feedback and supported staff. This rating improved from Requires Improvement at the previous inspection.
What inspectors found, September 2023
Rated Good; inspectors found kind, personalised care, but medicines and hygiene checks were not always safe.
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection on 11 July 2023. Inspectors spoke with people living in the home, relatives and staff. They reviewed care plans, medicine records, staff files and management records.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. People were generally protected from harm, treated kindly and supported by staff who understood their needs.
Inspectors found two safety shortfalls. Two people's barrier creams had not been signed or dated when opened. Food debris was found on a bed, and some kitchen equipment needed cleaning. These issues were raised and dealt with during the inspection.
The overall Good rating remained unchanged from the previous inspection in 2018. The Well-led rating improved from Requires Improvement to Good.
Kind and respectful care
People were treated with kindness, dignity and respect. Staff involved people in everyday choices and respected their privacy.
“We observed kind and caring interactions between staff and people.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans recorded people's individual needs, preferences and communication needs. Staff were described as knowing people well.
“Care plans were personalised to the individual and recorded details about each person's specific needs and how they liked to be supported.” from the report
Activities and relationships
People were supported to take part in activities and maintain important relationships. This included activities for people cared for in their bedrooms.
“People had opportunities to engage in meaningful activities to support their social care needs.” from the report
Open management
Staff felt supported and people and relatives said managers were approachable. The service used feedback and audits to help improve care.
“The provider promoted an ethos of openness and transparency which had been adopted by all staff.” from the report
Medicine cream records
needs fixingTwo people's barrier creams had not been signed or dated when opened. The manager addressed this during the inspection, but families should ask how this is now checked.
“We found 2 people's barrier creams were not signed or dated when opened.” from the report
Hygiene standards
needs fixingInspectors found food debris on a person's bed and stains on some kitchen equipment. These issues were dealt with during the inspection.
“one of the kitchen freezers and microwave had stains and required cleaning.” from the report
- 01How do you record and check when prescribed creams are opened and when they must be disposed of?
- 02What daily checks are now used to make sure bedrooms, kitchen equipment and food areas are clean?
- 03How do you make sure hygiene issues are dealt with promptly when staff are busy supporting people away from the home?
- 04What changes helped the Well-led rating improve from Requires Improvement to Good?
- 05How are staff medicine competencies checked and kept up to date?
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering all five key questions; the overall rating remained Good, and the Well-led rating improved from Requires Improvement to Good since 2018. This explanation was written from the published report of 21 September 2023 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, November 2020
St. Giles Care Home was inspected but not rated; inspectors were assured that infection prevention and control measures were in place.
Inspectors visited the home on 21 October 2020. The visit was announced and targeted. It looked only at infection prevention and control during the coronavirus pandemic.
The home had a separate unit for people discharged from hospital with a positive Covid-19 test. Staff working there did not work in other health or care services. Inspectors were assured that the home was using PPE, testing, cleaning, social distancing and visiting arrangements safely.
The home was inspected but not rated. This means the visit did not provide an overall rating or ratings for the five main areas of care.
Separate Covid-19 unit
The home had a self-contained unit for people who had tested positive for Covid-19 in hospital and needed to move into a care home.
“A self-contained unit within the home could care for people safely who had tested positive for Covid-19 in hospital” from the report
Dedicated staff
Staff working in the designated unit did not also work in other health or care services, reducing the risk of infection spreading between settings.
“Staff were deployed to work solely within the unit. They did not work in other health or social care services” from the report
Cleaning arrangements
Specialist cleaning equipment was used, including for items that were difficult to clean.
“Specialist cleaning equipment had been purchased and was used to deep clean the environment.” from the report
Safer visiting
Visits were planned with risk assessments, bookings and staggered times to reduce the risk of infection transmission.
“Risk assessments were completed to ensure visits with people could be undertaken safely during the pandemic.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are people admitted safely now, particularly if they have recently tested positive for Covid-19?
- 02How are PPE use, staff testing and infection control checks monitored?
- 03Do staff working in any separate infection-control unit also work elsewhere?
- 04How are visits currently risk assessed, booked and arranged?
- 05How often are difficult-to-clean items and shared areas deep cleaned?
This was an announced, targeted inspection of infection prevention and control measures only; the service was inspected but not rated and the other areas of care were not assessed. This explanation was written from the published report of 6 November 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. Giles Care Home
3 rated inspections over 6 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- September 2023Goodcurrent ratingSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- November 2020Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- April 2018Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- September 2017Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- December 2016
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 9 December 2016.
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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