What the CQC found at St Mary's Care Home

People and relatives valued the friendly and patient approach of regular staff. Staff treated people with dignity and supported their independence.

“People and relatives were positive about the caring nature of regular staff and had good relationships with them.” from the report

People and relatives were positive about the meals. Drinks and snacks were available during the day.

“People and relatives were complimentary about the quality of meals.” from the report

People were involved in decisions where they could make them. The home recorded preferences and checked who had legal authority to make decisions for someone else.

“The service followed the principles of MCA. People were involved in decisions about their care where they had capacity to do so.” from the report

Staff had safeguarding training and understood how to report poor practice. The home reviewed accidents and used actions such as sensor mats to reduce repeat falls.

“Staff had training in safeguarding. They understood their responsibilities to protect people and to report poor practices.” from the report

Some bedroom doors did not close properly when the fire alarm sounded and were held open with chairs. Bathrooms and other areas also had clutter, damage or equipment that created potential risks.

“The provider had recently replaced faulty dorgards, but during this visit several were still not working and those doors were being held open by chairs which posed a fire risk.” from the report

Medicine records contained gaps and errors. Risk, recruitment and nurse competency records were also incomplete or difficult to find, limiting assurance that care was safe and properly monitored.

“Medicines records had errors, including gaps, crossings out and inconsistent codes used.” from the report

There was no activity worker in post and no extra staff time planned for activities. People on the first floor or in their rooms had little engagement.

“There was a lack of planned, person-centred activities.” from the report

There had been several management changes and quality checks had not led to lasting improvements. Relatives and staff also reported limited formal communication and meetings.

“The provider had failed to sustain improvements made after the last inspection.” from the report

A small number of people waited a long time for help, meaning their food and drinks became cold. Inspectors recommended reviewing staffing at mealtimes.

“During the inspection visit, a small number of people were left a long time before being assisted so their meal and drink were cold.” from the report