Care Home: St Stephens Care Home

What the care home does well Staff who work at St Stephens are highly regarded by people living in the home and visitors. One person in the home said, "very nice, very hardworking and very respectful" and a visitor, " staff are so obliging, always a smile, always a welcome". St Stephens offers people living in the home choice in their daily lives, a variety of activities and a good standard of catering so their quality of life is good. The home has received no complaints in the last ten months indicating that people are satisfied with the care provided.St Stephens offers a clean, bright and comfortable living environment so people live in pleasant surroundings. The home`s recruitment practices are thorough and staff receive training to help them carry out their role so that people living in the home know they are being cared for by experienced and suitable staff. What the care home could do better: Nurse staffing levels should be monitored to make sure there is enough cover to meet the needs of the people living at St Stephens and that staff are not becoming stressed in their role. The staff training matrix (chart) should be kept accurately so it is easy to check that all the mandatory training that staff need to do is up to date. The choice of music played in the home should reflect the preferences of people living in the home. Inspecting for better lives Random inspection report Care homes for older people Name: Address: St Stephens Care Home London Road Elworth Sandbach Cheshire CW11 4TG three star excellent service The quality rating for this care home is: The rating was made on: A quality rating is our assessment of how well a care home, agency or scheme is meeting the needs of the people who use it. We give a quality rating following a full assessment of the service. We call this a ‘key’ inspection. This is a report of a random inspection of this care home. A random inspection is a short, focussed inspection. Details of how to get other inspection reports for this care home, including the last key inspection report, can be found on the last page of this report. Lead inspector: June Shimmin Date: 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 9 Information about the care home Name of care home: Address: St Stephens Care Home London Road Elworth Sandbach Cheshire CW11 4TG 01270759565 01270753425 Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: Name of registered provider(s): Type of registration: Number of places registered: Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : Community Integrated Care care home 40 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 19 21 dementia old age, not falling within any other category Conditions of registration: 0 0 This home is registered for a maximum of 40 service users to include: * up to 21 service users in the category of OP (Old age not falling within any other category) * up to 19 service users in the category of DE(E) (dementia over the age of 65 years) Date of last inspection Brief description of the care home St Stephen?s is in the village of Elworth, close to Sandbach and 3 miles from Middlewich. It is a single storey purpose built home consisting of two wings where nursing care for older people is provided. Saxon Wing is registered for nineteen people with dementia, and Penda Wing for twenty-one people who are elderly and infirm. There are 40 single bedrooms. All bedrooms, lounges and dining rooms are close to bathrooms and toilets. There is enough shared space such as lounges and dining rooms for the number of people who live in the home. There are nurses on duty at all Care Homes for Older People Page 2 of 9 Brief description of the care home times. The fees range from #390.35 to #551 per week. Additional charges are made for hairdressing and aromatherapy. Further information can be obtained from the manager of the home. The home manager confirmed the level of the fees at the time of the inspection. Care Homes for Older People Page 3 of 9 What we found: Choice of Home We looked at the assessment of the needs of someone who had recently moved into St Stephens. This contained sufficient information about the persons needs so that staff would be able to meet the needs of the person when they arrived at the home. We spoke to this person who said that she was settling in very well. We also saw a copy of the information leaflet about the home (service user guide) displayed in the reception area together with copies of our latest inspection report and annual service review so people would have easy access to information about the services and facilities provided at St Stephens. Health and Personal Care We looked at the care plans of two people living in the home. The care plans were pre printed but allowed staff to make additions to the plans so that they reflected the individual needs of the two people. The care plan for someone who had recently moved to St Stephens was of a good standard but needed to include plans for several new problems that had arisen since the person moved in. There were appropriate risk assessments on both care plans and the care plans were kept under review so that peoples changing needs were evaluated. The care plans also referred to respecting the privacy and dignity of the people living in the home and supporting people to maintain their independence, which is good practice. People had indicated when they moved in if they wanted their care plan to be kept in their room or in the office so they were given the choice to be involved in the care plan if they wished. There was evidence that care home staff had made contact with a number of health care professionals so that the further health care needs of people were recognised and met. We also looked at medication on one unit and this was being well managed. Daily Life and Social Activities There were a variety of activities taking place during the day of our visit. These included one to one and group activities which people could choose to take part in if they wished. The standard of catering at St Stephens was good, one person commending the soups and puddings in particular. The dining rooms offered people a pleasant environment in which to enjoy their meals and there were sufficient staff available at meal times so people were given assistance where this was needed. Complaints and Protection St Stephens has not received any since complaints since we carried out our annual service review (ASR) in April 2008. The complaints procedure was displayed prominently so people living in the home and relatives would be aware about how to complain if necessary. The home has not been involved in any safeguarding adults issues since its last ASR. A number of staff have recently undertaken training in this topic and two further study days are planned so that all staff will have up to date training about safeguarding Care Homes for Older People Page 4 of 9 vulnerable adults. Environment When we walked around the home we noted that there was a high standard of cleanliness. One visitor commented that she was impressed by the fact that there were no smells. There are a number of communal areas at St Stephens so that people can enjoy the company of others or sit quietly if they prefer. We did note that pop music was playing quite loudly twice during our visit and were unsure if this was the choice of people living in the home. There is also a large lounge at the centre of the home which can be used for family celebrations if required. Externally St Stephens has been well maintained and there are accessible gardens for people living in the home to enjoy. Staffing Although staffing levels appeared adequate during our visit, several staff members considered that the number of available nursing hours was decreasing. They said that this was stressful for staff working in the home but was not having a detrimental effect on standards of care. We looked at the recruitment records of a new staff member and these were satisfactory. The deputy manager confirmed that new staff work under supervision until their full disclosure has been received from the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). Staff are given opportunities to undertake training and the home has recently introduced E-learning. Staff can do training at home if they wish and are paid to do this, which can make it easier for staff to do training when it suits them. St Stephens has also recently introduced the role of a training coordinator to ensure that staff are given training support. However, it was difficult to see from the training matrix (chart) if all mandatory training was up to date. Management Although the registered manager is supporting another home for several days a week, the deputy manager said that her supernumerary hours had been increased so that there are adequate management hours to make sure that the home continues to be managed well. Staff meetings are held for each unit and minutes of these meetings are made available so staff can air their views about how the home is run. Fire safety at the home appears well managed and a fire alarm test took place during our visit. The activity coordinator is the fire trainer for St Stephens and said that she carried out six monthly updates so that staff know what to do in the event of fire. What the care home does well: Staff who work at St Stephens are highly regarded by people living in the home and visitors. One person in the home said, very nice, very hardworking and very respectful and a visitor, staff are so obliging, always a smile, always a welcome. St Stephens offers people living in the home choice in their daily lives, a variety of activities and a good standard of catering so their quality of life is good. The home has received no complaints in the last ten months indicating that people are satisfied with the care provided. Care Homes for Older People Page 5 of 9 St Stephens offers a clean, bright and comfortable living environment so people live in pleasant surroundings. The homes recruitment practices are thorough and staff receive training to help them carry out their role so that people living in the home know they are being cared for by experienced and suitable staff. What they could do better: If you want to know what action the person responsible for this care home is taking following this report, you can contact them using the details set out on page 2. Care Homes for Older People Page 6 of 9 Are there any outstanding requirements from the last inspection? Yes £ No R Outstanding statutory requirements These requirements were set at the last inspection. They may not have been looked at during this inspection, as a random inspection is short and focussed. The registered person must take the necessary action to comply with these requirements within the timescales set. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Care Homes for Older People Page 7 of 9 Requirements and recommendations from this inspection Immediate requirements: These are immediate requirements that were set on the day we visited this care home. The registered person had to meet these within 48 hours. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Statutory requirements These requirements set out what the registered person must do to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Care Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must do this within the timescales we have set. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Recommendations These recommendations are taken from the best practice described in the National Minimum Standards and the registered person(s) should consider them as a way of improving their service. No. Refer to Standard Good Practice Recommendations 1 30 The staff training matrix should be kept up to date so it is easy to see whether all mandatory training has been carried out. The manager should find out whether people living in the home enjoy listening to pop music playing loudly to make sure that if this happens, it is because people who live in the home want it and that their preferences are respected. 2 33 Care Homes for Older People Page 8 of 9 Reader Information Document Purpose: Author: Audience: Further copies from: Inspection Report CSCI General Public 0870 240 7535 (telephone order line) Our duty to regulate social care services is set out in the Care Standards Act 2000. Copies of the National Minimum Standards –Care Homes for Older People can be found at www.dh.gov.uk or got from The Stationery Office (TSO) PO Box 29, St Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1GN. Tel: 0870 600 5522. 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