• Care Home
  • Care home

Foxholes Care Home

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Pirton Road, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG5 2EN (01462) 410767

Provided and run by:
Foxholes Nursing Home Limited

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 19 September 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by three inspectors.

Service and service type:

Foxholes Care Home is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 11 people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager who is also the provider, deputy manager and nine members of staff. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included seven people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at quality assurance records.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 19 September 2019

About the service

Foxholes Care Home is a purpose-built residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 65 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 110 people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were happy with the care and support they received. Staff were friendly and attentive to people’s needs. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and they were trained and felt supported.

People felt safe and staff were aware of how to promote people’s safety. Regular checks were in place to ensure staff worked in accordance with training and health and safety guidance adhered to.

The environment was pleasant with plenty of communal space for people to enjoy. People enjoyed the activities and there were systems in place to help prevent people becoming isolated. For example, encouraging people to come to the dining room for meals and headphones to help people with hearing impairment feel engaged.

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

People were involved in planning their care and they, along with their relatives, felt listened to. People had end of life care plans in place which helped to ensure they died with dignity. There had been no recent complaints, but people felt confident to make a complaint if needed. Feedback was sought through meetings and surveys.

Feedback about the registered manager and management team was positive. There was an open culture in the home and an expectation that people were treated as family. The quality assurance systems checked to ensure the home was running how it should and people received a good service. Staff were clear about their roles and the management team engaged well with the team and other agencies.

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

The last rating for this service was Good (published 20 March 2017). At this inspection the service has remained rated as Good.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.