CQC welcomes improvements at St Margarets Care Home in Peterborough

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has raised the rating of St Margarets Care Home from inadequate to good and removed it from special measures, following an inspection in December.

St Margarets Care Home, run by Fins Care Limited, provides personal care for up to 16 older people including people living with dementia. There were 12 people living there at the time of this inspection.

CQC visited to follow up a previous inspection, in which inspectors found significant shortfalls in safety in multiple areas, including safety, staffing, person-centred care and the management of the service. At this inspection, CQC found the home had made sufficient improvements in all aspects and they are no longer in breach of regulations.

CQC has raised the home's ratings for safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led from inadequate to good.

Hazel Roberts, CQC deputy director of adult social care in the east of England, said:

"When we inspected St Margarets, we were very pleased to find the home had made major improvements to people's care. Leaders were listening to feedback and now had a strong awareness of the needs of their residents and workforce.

"We saw staff treated everyone with kindness and respect and people appeared happy and relaxed. Importantly, we saw staff knew the people in their care well, including their individual needs and preferences, like what temperature they liked their room or what music they preferred.

"Staff enabled people to make more choices in their daily lives and understood how to respect the rights of people with limited mental capacity.

"Leaders supported this through new training, as well as thorough care plans and risk assessments, which staff created in partnership with people and their loved ones. This was a very positive change from our last inspection, in which people's care wasn't always personalised.

"Leaders also improved staffing in the home, meaning staff had time to spend with people and could respond quickly if someone needed support.

"While some issues remained, such as further maintenance work, leaders were clearly listening and acting on feedback from their residents, staff, and outside professionals.

"Everyone at St Margarets should be proud of the improvements they've made. We will continue to monitor the home, including through further inspections, to ensure these improvements are embedded and sustained."

Inspectors found:

• Staff supported people to enjoy their hobbies and interests and access their local community. People said they had access to many activities.
• Staff respected people's dignity and personal space. For example, they knocked and awaited a response before entering people's rooms.
• When people appeared worried or upset, staff sat with them and reassured them, using what they knew of the person to help resolve their concern.
• Staff communicated with people in ways they could understand, to help them understand their care and make choices.
• Staff supported people to access services that promoted their wellbeing, such as chiropody, hairdressing, and optician appointments.
• The home worked well with other health and social care professionals, to ensure people's health needs were met.
• Staff felt well supported by their management, which enabled them to provide better care.

However:

• Leaders still needed to make some improvements to ensure people's medicines were handled safely. They acted immediately when inspectors raised this to them.