CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at St Vincent's Nursing Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, February 2022
St Vincent's Nursing Home: Inspected but not rated; infection controls were generally reassuring, but visiting rules were not followed on three days.
This was an announced, targeted inspection on 13 January 2022. Inspectors looked at infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements, and whether COVID-19 staffing pressures affected care.
Inspectors were assured that the home used PPE safely, carried out testing, kept the premises clean, and followed shielding and social distancing rules. People were supported to take part in activities and receive visitors.
There was one important issue. The home closed to all visitors, including essential care givers, on 25 and 26 December 2021 and 1 January 2022. This was against the guidance in place at the time. The home apologised and said future decisions would follow government guidance.
The home was inspected but not rated. This means this inspection did not provide an overall quality rating or a rating for the other care areas.
Infection control
Inspectors were assured that the home used PPE effectively, provided testing and followed infection control procedures.
“We were assured that the provider was using PPE effectively and safely.” from the report
Clean environment
The home was clean during the inspection, with cleaning taking place and hand gel and PPE available around the units.
“We saw the home was clean and cleaning was underway during the inspection.” from the report
Safe activities
People could take part in activities safely and interact with others in their unit. They could also use the garden and attend Mass with social distancing.
“People were supported to take part in activities in a safe way and to interact with other people in their unit.” from the report
Testing and checks
Visitors had COVID-19 tests and temperature checks on arrival. The home also checked vaccination status for professionals and contractors and required testing and PPE.
“The provider had a clear process for COVID-19 testing of both people living at the home and staff.” from the report
Visitors were stopped on three days
needs fixingDuring a COVID-19 outbreak, the home closed to all visitors, including essential care givers, on three days. Inspectors said this did not follow the visiting guidance in place at the time.
“The visiting guidance in place at this time stated essential care givers should be supported to continue to visit.” from the report
- 01What is the current visiting procedure during a COVID-19 outbreak?
- 02How will essential care givers be supported to continue visiting if restrictions are introduced?
- 03What checks are made to ensure visiting decisions follow the guidance in force at the time?
- 04How are staffing pressures managed during an outbreak so that visits can still be supported?
- 05When were the home's other care areas last inspected and rated?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and COVID-19-related staffing pressures; it did not assess the other four key questions. 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, June 2021
Rated Good overall, but Safe Requires Improvement because Covid-19 risk assessments were not always complete.
Inspectors made an unannounced visit on 20 April 2021. They spoke with people, relatives, staff and a healthcare professional. They observed care and checked care, medicines, recruitment and management records.
The home was rated Good overall. Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led were all rated Good. People described kind care, enough staff, good communication and support with their choices.
Safe was rated Requires Improvement. Infection control arrangements were generally strong, but individual Covid-19 risk assessments did not always record people's specific health risks. The home had improved since the previous inspection and was no longer in breach of regulations.
Kind and respectful care
People said staff treated them with kindness, dignity and respect. Inspectors also saw friendly communication and support for people's independence and choices.
“During lunch we saw care workers chatting with people, laughing with people, helping them make choices and making the meal an enjoyable experience.” from the report
Improved medicines safety
Medicines were securely stored, staff were trained and records showed people received their medicines as prescribed. Regular audits had been introduced.
“We looked at 13 medicines administration record (MAR) charts and found no unexplained omitted doses in the recording of medicines administered” from the report
Personalised care planning
The electronic care planning system recorded people's support needs, preferences and daily care. It also gave staff reminders about some care tasks.
“The care plans included information on how the person wanted their personal care provided” from the report
Open management
The home used audits, incident reviews, surveys and feedback to monitor care and identify improvements. Relatives described communication during the pandemic as transparent and reassuring.
“Everything was transparent. It has been very reassuring. They welcomed feedback and acted on it.” from the report
Incomplete Covid-19 risk assessments
needs fixingIndividual Covid-19 assessments were not always completed. Care plans sometimes used standard wording rather than recording health conditions that could increase a person's Covid-19 risk.
“Covid-19 risk assessments were not completed for people living at the home to identify any health issues or personal characteristics which increased possible risks from Covid-19.” from the report
Cream application records
minorBody maps had not been completed for people prescribed creams, so the application site was not recorded. This was raised with the registered manager during the inspection.
“However, we found that body maps had not been completed for people who had creams prescribed to them to indicate the site of application.” from the report
- 01Have all residents' Covid-19 risk assessments now been completed and updated for their individual health conditions?
- 02How do you check that body maps are completed for people who use prescribed creams?
- 03What activities and resident meetings are currently available after the restrictions during the pandemic?
- 04How often are medicines and incidents audited, and how are lessons shared with staff?
- 05How will my relative and family be involved in reviewing the electronic care plan?
This was an unannounced planned inspection based on the previous rating, covering all five key questions and including infection prevention and control arrangements. This explanation was written from the published report of 16 June 2021 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 Vincent's Nursing Home
6 rated inspections over 6 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- February 2022Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- June 2021Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- December 2019Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- January 2019Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- July 2018Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- December 2017Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- October 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: OutstandingResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- April 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- February 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 21 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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