Archived: Flowerdown House

Flowerdown House is a hotel which offers short breaks to serving or ex Royal Airforce personnel and their families. The service provides accommodation for up to eight people with care needs in specific bedrooms. During our inspection there were no people receiving care staying at the service. However, on the second day of our inspection the registered manager arranged for regular guests to visit the hotel to speak with us. The property is a large detached house on the sea front.

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

The person and their relative that we spoke with were full of praise for the staff and their experience of staying at the hotel. People told us, “They are wonderful, they will do anything for us. I have a real holiday here.” Staff we spoke with demonstrated commitment to ensuring people had the best holiday they could, in a way they wished. Both staff and people using the service described it as, ‘a family.’

People felt well-cared for at the service. Staff described how important it was to support people to be as independent as possible. Staff told us about supporting people with their choices and how important it was to get to know people. All the staff we spoke with told us they enjoyed getting to know people and spending time with them. Staff told us they had as much time as needed to support people.

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.

People were cared for safely at the service, the environment was well-maintained and equipment was serviced regularly. Staff assessed any risk to people and took steps to minimise these. There was a range of equipment such as ceiling hoists and electric mobility scooters available to assist people. The premises were clean and fresh with a range of level-access communal areas.

The provider had systems in place to enable people to access healthcare support whilst on holiday. Staff made sure people had enough to eat and drink and people told us they always had choice. Where people had been unhappy about the food the registered manager had made changes based on their feedback.

People’s care and support was based around their needs and preferences. Staff told us they always made sure they knew how and when people liked their support. In order to make sure staff could give everybody the time they needed they balanced people’s holiday bookings so there wasn’t several people with high needs at the same time.

The service was well-managed. Staff were very positive about working at the service; some staff had been there many years. The registered manager had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. Where they had identified shortfalls in quality, action had been taken.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control 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.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 07 June 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated good:

Staffing levels were safe to meet people’s needs. The staff team were well established and were skilled at making new relationships with people. Staff were kind, caring and respected people’s privacy.

Medicines were stored and administered safely. Risk assessments were in place to support people safely whilst ensuring people’s independence was retained. Staff were knowledgeable about how to safeguard people from abuse.

Staff had effective induction, training and supervision. People’s health needs were met and people had benefited from attentive staff who referred matters when needed to other health and social care professionals.

Pre-assessment information and care records gave clear guidance to staff of how people preferred to be supported. Feedback was sought from people and actions taken as a result.

Systems were in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service. The service was well run and managed. Staff worked effectively as a team and felt valued and supported. Positive feedback was received about the registered manager from people and staff.

We saw that care records were clearly written and provided staff with guidance to support people as they wished. We saw that people had been involved in writing their own assessments before they came to the service.

People we spoke with told us that they were extremely happy with the care they received at this service. People told us they were encouraged to express their views. One person said "they asked me how I liked everything done before I even came here". Another person told us 'my daughter told them everything I needed when they came to see me'.

During our visit, we saw that staff treated people respectfully. Staff were patient and polite and always made themselves available when required. One person told us "the staff are always there when I need them, and so friendly too'. Another person said "all the staff are so wonderful, they really are".

People told us that they felt safe at this service. Staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding and what they would do if anyone had any concerns. We saw that staff training was up to date, and relevant to individual roles within the staff team.

We saw that people's opinions were regularly taken into account and used to improve the service. Everyone we spoke with told us they would recommend the service to others.

We saw the care planning system which involved people using the service, recorded their views and ensured that care and support was delivered in a way that met their needs.

People told us that they felt safe at Flowerdown House and staff were able to show us that they understood safeguarding issues and how to report them should the need arise.

People using the service told us that "the staff are lovely". We saw evidence that there was a system of recruiting staff which meant that they were safe to work at Flowerdown House.

The provider showed us ways in which the views of people using services was used to evaluate and improve the facilities at Flowerdown House. The provider also showed us ways in which risks were managed to ensure that health, welfare and safety of people using the service was protected.