Fernside

Updated 11 November 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Fernside is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Fernside is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 17 October 2023 and ended on 20 October 2023. We visited the service on 17 and 19 October 2023.

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 (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke and interacted with all 4 people who lived at the service. We contacted 4 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with and received written feedback from 7 members of staff including the registered manager, team leaders, complex care workers and housekeeping. We received written feedback from 3 health professionals.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people's care records such as risk assessments and a sample of medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 11 November 2023

About the service

Fernside is a small residential care home without nursing that provides support for up to 4 people aged 18-65 with complex medical, physical and learning needs. It is located in a purpose-built bungalow with a large level access garden. At the time of our inspection the home was providing support to 4 people.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support:

People who were able to, told us they felt safe and happy at the home. People looked happy, calm, and content when spending time with staff. Relatives and health professionals felt people were well cared for and safe. A familiar and consistent group of care staff meant they knew people well.

Risks to people were assessed and regularly reviewed. Positive risk taking was encouraged.

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.

Right Care:

People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of the signs and symptoms that may indicate a person is experiencing poor care and abuse and knew how to report this appropriately. They felt confident appropriate and timely action would be taken by the registered manager. People received their prescribed medicines appropriately from trained staff and had regular reviews to ensure they remained effective.

Right Culture:

There was an open, supportive and homely culture at Fernside. Staff felt supported by management and their colleagues. They were encouraged to take on new skills and qualifications to help further improve the care people received. Relatives and professionals spoke highly of the registered manager who they saw as approachable, receptive and engaged with securing good outcomes for people. The home worked well with other organisations such as GP surgeries, day centres, epilepsy team and physiotherapists.

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 12 April 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Fernside on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.