Enter and view: St Georges Care Home

Healthwatch Wirral conducted an announced Enter and View visit to St George’s Care Home on 25 May 2018 in response to feedback about the service. St George’s is a care home in Wallasey providing residential, nursing, EMI and transitional care for older people. Healthwatch found the home to be welcoming, clean and undergoing refurbishment, with communal areas that were comfortable and well maintained. Staff were observed treating residents with dignity, respect and kindness, and residents appeared comfortable and settled. 

Residents told Healthwatch that they were happy living at the home, felt well cared for and enjoyed the food and choice available. Relatives spoke positively about the home and felt able to raise concerns or provide feedback. Staff reported enjoying their roles, feeling supported by the recently appointed manager and seeing improvements in the way the home was being run, although some felt additional staffing would be beneficial at busy times. 

The manager described ongoing work to improve the service following a previous inadequate CQC rating, including reviewing care plans, strengthening quality assurance processes and increasing staff development opportunities. Healthwatch found appropriate arrangements for nutrition, hydration, medication management, safeguarding and risk management, and no safeguarding concerns were identified during the visit. 

Overall, Healthwatch concluded that St George’s Care Home provided a pleasant environment with a positive atmosphere and caring staff. The report recognised efforts being made by management and staff to improve the service and recommended continuing work on the CQC action plan, reviewing staffing levels, developing community links and garden areas, improving the kitchen’s environmental health rating and further developing the home as a dementia-friendly environment.