Archived: Fairhaven Care Home

This inspection took place on 27 September 2016 and was unannounced.

The home is set over two floors with the first floor being accessed via stairwells and a stair lift. The ground floor has a communal lounge/dining room and a quiet lounge for people to access. There was a safe and secure sensory garden and patio for the people to use. Seventeen of the bedrooms were single occupancy and two were shared.

There was a registered manager at the home. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the service is run.

The risks relating to people’s health and were assessed and these were recorded along with actions identified to reduce those risks in the least restrictive way. They were personalised and provided sufficient information to allow staff to protect people whilst promoting their independence.

There was a robust recruitment process in place to help ensure that staff recruited were suitable to work with the people they supported. People were supported by staff who had received an induction into the home and appropriate training, professional development and supervision to enable them to meet people’s individual needs. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and to enable them to engage with people in a relaxed and unhurried manner.

People felt safe and staff knew how to identify, prevent and report abuse. Legislation designed to protect people's legal rights was followed correctly. Staff offered people choices and respected their decisions. People were supported and encouraged to be as independent as possible and their dignity was promoted.

People, relatives, and social care professionals were positive about the service people received. Medicines were managed safely and people received these as prescribed. People were positive about meals and the support they received to ensure they had a nutritious diet.

Care plans provided comprehensive information about how people wished to be cared for and staff were aware of people's individual care needs and preferences. Reviews of care involving people were conducted regularly. People had access to healthcare services and were referred to doctors and specialists when needed. The risks relating to people’s health and welfare were assessed and these were recorded along with actions identified to reduce those risks in the least restrictive way. They were personalised and provided sufficient information to allow staff to protect people whilst promoting their independence.

People and, when appropriate, their families were involved in discussions about their care planning, which reflected their assessed needs.

Staff developed caring and positive relationships with people and were sensitive to their individual choices and treated them with dignity and respect. People were encouraged to maintain relationships that were important to them.

People’s families told us they felt the home was well-led and were positive about the registered manager who understood the responsibilities of their role. Staff were aware of the provider’s vision and values, how they related to their work and spoke positively about the culture and management of the home. There was an opportunity for families to become involved in developing the service and they were encouraged to provide feedback on the service provided both informally and through an annual questionnaire.

People and relatives were able to complain or raise issues on a formal and informal basis with the registered manager and were confident these would be resolved. This contributed to an open culture within the home. Visitors were welcomed and there were good working relationships with external professionals.

There were systems in place to monitor quality and safety of the home. Accidents and incidents were monitored, analysed and remedial actions identified to reduce the risk of reoccurrence.

During our visit we spoke with two people who used the service and three staff including the deputy manager. We spent time observing how staff interacted and supported people. We saw staff treat people in a sensitive, respectful and professional manner.

In this report the name of a registered manager appears who was not in post and not managing the regulatory activities at this location at the time of the inspection. Their name appears because they were still a registered manager on our register at the time. The deputy manager informed us that the registered manager had left in December 2013 and they had taken on the management of the home in the absence of a registered manager whilst the provider was seeking to recruit to the position.

People told us that they were happy and that they liked living at Fairhaven Care Home. One person told us that 'I couldn't speak more highly of the carers ' they don't make you feel like you are a burden'.

We spent time observing how staff interacted and supported people, most of whom where in the lounge during our visit. We saw staff treating people with respect and involving them in activities throughout the time we spent at the service. People appeared relaxed, talking with each other and staff, or involved in activities.

A resident told us that "the staff are marvellous, I wouldn't have a word said about them." Another person told us about the staff, 'you know that they aren't going to jump down your throat." They went on to add "the staff are humane." All the people we spoke to said they were happy living at the home. They told us the food was good, that they had a choice of what to eat, and they had enough to eat and drink. They told us the quality of care was good, a resident said "there is always a member of staff around to help me."

People told us they felt safe living at Fairhaven. People said that they knew how to raise issues with the manager of the home, and confident that these would be addressed. We also saw that the home had systems in place to regularly monitor and quality assure the care people received.