St Vincents House

I am in regular contact with St Vincent’s staff since early 2018, because my relative is a permanent resident. Staff try to be helpful and polite. Some staff are genuinely kind & caring. A few of the staff struggle with English language. I have seen that staff are frequently overstretched, and even if they do try their best, it is obvious that there just isn’t enough staff in St Vincent’s. This is particularly the case at weekends when St Vincent’s uses a lot of agency nurses, and the main switchboard can be unresponsive for up to an entire day. The problems in St Vincent’s are also due to the fact that they have not been able to appoint a CQC-registered manager from April 2018 to date 10/07/19 (448 days). Many interim managers have come and gone. This really does not inspire confidence. Nurses and clinical leads have come and gone too. Continuity and timeliness of care was disrupted for my relative. St Vincent’s could be a great place, under a permanent manager to supervise the staff. St Vincent’s would also benefit if it had correct staffing levels, with lower staff turnover. The garden is lovely, and the building well renovated, but as things stand, I cannot recommend this care home.
Original Comment Report...

In September 2018 St Vincent's appointed the 5th manager since March 2018. The last CQC-registered manager left in April 2018. Many managers are totally unaccountable due to inappropriate qualifications (not CQC registered, not NMC registered, not HCPC registered). Legal, administrative and admission procedures are of very poor quality. Likewise there have been 4 clinical leads in the last year. This vertiginous staff turnover has led to loss of information, lack of continuity and poor quality care. This is not in the best interests of any of the residents in St Vincent’s, many of whom suffer from dementia. I simply cannot understand such a situation. It is a fact that my mother, a resident, has greatly suffered from these anomalies.
Original Comment Report...