St Mary's Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence. At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

This service scored 67 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff at the service made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, well-being and communication needs with them. A relative commented, “We discussed things when [Name] was admitted.” Staff told us there were effective systems in place to assess and monitor people’s needs. This included handover meetings between incoming and outgoing staff on shift, staff meetings and flash meetings. A staff member commented, “At daily handover meetings we discuss people’s needs and if there have been any changes.”

The service planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards. There was effective recording and monitoring of people’s nutritional and fluid intake, with specialist advice obtained in a timely way, including for modified diets. Communication had improved with catering staff so they were informed daily of any changes in people’s nutrition and where they may be at risk of weight loss. A person commented, “The food is excellent, I was under weight, I have now put weight on.”

Staff at the service worked well across teams and services to support people. Staff made timely referrals and worked well with other agencies to ensure people's treatment needs were met. A health professional commented, “Referrals are always received in a timely manner and staff are always more than happy to follow any advice that I give.” Another commented, “If any issues have been noted, the registered manager has put the relevant changes in place to support our care plans surrounding the patient's care.”

Staff at the service supported people to manage their health and well-being to maximise their independence, choice and control. The service supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support. Records included specialist advice and guidance, that had been obtained where people had additional support needs, such as, from the speech and language therapist or community nursing team. People told us they were supported to access health care. A relative told us, “The doctor does a routine visit every fortnight.” Another relative commented, “When [Name] is unwell the doctor is called, the staff keep me up to date and ring if [Name] is going to hospital.”

The service routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves. Care plans were personalised to ensure outcomes could be met ensuring people received safe and effective support. There was a system of evaluation of risk assessments and people's care plans. We advised they were all reviewed monthly, to ensure they accurately reflected people's needs, with appropriate guidance for staff about the support people needed. Reviews were carried out regularly to ensure people's support and outcomes were monitored. A person told us, “I think I am due a review soon.”

Staff at the service told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. Assessments were carried out, around people’s mental capacity and care records contained relevant information. We discussed with the registered manager the need to ensure records captured all the relevant others involved in Best Interest decision making, where people no longer had the mental capacity to give consent. For example, for the use of covert medicines. The registered manager told us this would be addressed.