St Leonards Care Home

St Leonards care home accommodates people across 2 units. 1 of the units specialises in providing care to people living with dementia. Each unit has a communal sitting and dining room facilities, with people having access to an enclosed outside space.

Staff were not suitably recruited and did not have their competencies assessed for the tasks they were involved in, including administration of medicine. However, medicines were given as prescribed and the service took action to complete staff competencies.

People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice.

Auditing was taking place and shortfalls in the service were identified. However, timely action was not taken to address the outcome of the audits to mitigate risks to people. Records were not consistently managed, with some records not updated in response to changes in people's needs and other records were contradictory.

People were supported by a consistent staff team. Whilst records and feedback from people and staff indicated staffing levels were suitable, some staff felt staffing levels were not sufficient to enable them to provide the high-quality care they aspired to, because of the volume of administration tasks. This was fed back to the provider to explore further with staff.

Systems were in place to safeguard people and actions were taken to prevent reoccurrence of incidents which impacted on people's safety.

People were assessed prior to moving into the service and their health and nutritional needs were met. The service had established community links and people had access to regular, varied, and engaging activities.

Whilst we found some areas for improvement within the service, people and their relatives told us they were happy with their care. They felt they got safe care and that their needs were met in a service that was well managed. People commented, "All I can say is that I feel privileged I am so well looked after. Staff who help

me are kind, they do their job with pride," and "The carers here are like my family. Whatever I need, I get. If I need to talk, staff are there to sit and ask if I need anything, they are there for me."

The registered manager was actively involved in the running of the service. They were passionate in providing person centred care and had positive relationships with people, relatives, and staff. They acknowledged the shortfalls we found and was committed to make those improvements.