St Catherine's Care Centre Limited

People's experience of using this service: There were not always enough staff available to meet people's needs. Some people told us they often had to wait for care when they needed it, and several relatives said staffing levels were not sufficient to ensure their family members received support in a timely way.

Staff told us they found it difficult to respond to people promptly when they needed care. Three of the 7 relatives who returned satisfaction surveys in 2023 said the home was not well-staffed. Call bell records showed people sometimes had to wait a significant period of time for staff when they needed them.

Risks to people were assessed but not always managed effectively. We found no action had been taken when weight charts demonstrated a person had lost a significant amount of weight. Some people's care plans stated they needed to be repositioned regularly as they were at risk of pressure damage. However, care records did not demonstrate that repositioning was being carried out as often as it should be.

Medicines were not always managed safely. Guidance regarding the administration of 'as required' and variable dose medicines lacked sufficient information to support staff when administering these medicines. There was no guidance for staff about how often emollients should be applied and body maps were not in place to show where barrier creams should be applied.

Professionals had raised concerns about standards of hygiene in the home in October 2023. We found some improvements had been made in relation to this, however concerns around cleanliness remained. Some communal toilets and the sluice rooms were not adequately clean, and some people's bedrooms smelled of urine.

Quality assurance systems had not been effective in identifying shortfalls. The management team had not always worked effectively with other professionals to ensure people received safe, high-quality care. Some relatives and staff told us their views and suggestions were not listened to or acted upon, including if they raised concerns.

Some risks were managed effectively, including where people had been identified as at risk of aspiration and people with diabetes. Staff used nationally-recognised tools to identify if a person's health was deteriorating and made referrals to healthcare professionals when necessary.

Staff were recruited safely and understood their role in safeguarding people from abuse. People told us the staff who supported them were kind and caring. Relatives said staff understood their family members' needs

and demonstrated a caring approach in their work.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The provider had developed a service improvement plan (SIP) in response to concerns raised by professionals in October 2023. This detailed the actions the provider planned to take to address the concerns, and timescales within which improvements would be achieved. In addition to responding to the concerns raised, the SIP outlined plans to improve communication amongst managers and staff, review and update people's care plans, and to develop risk management plans where necessary.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk