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 an inspector, a specialist nurse advisor and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The Experts by Experience contacted the service to speak with people living there, and people’s relatives by phone to request feedback. These calls took place on 21 December 2020.

Service and service type

Dr French Memorial 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. This means that they 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

We carried out the inspection visit on 16 December 2020. This inspection was unannounced.

What we did

Before our inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the home which included statutory notifications and safeguarding alerts and the Provider Information Return (PIR), which the provider completed before the inspection. The PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We also sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. In addition, we reviewed recent communications and statutory notifications received by CQC from the service.

During our inspection we spoke with the registered manager, one of the duty managers and three care assistants. We also spoke with the chef and three people who lived at the service. We had limited opportunities to speak with people at the service due to the need to socially distance. The conversations with people were limited to their views on food and choices.

As a health professional was visiting the service on the day of the inspection, we were able to get their feedback.

We looked at five care records and three staff files. We looked at various documents relating to the management of the service which included medicine administration records, staff training, supervision records, infection control and quality assurance records. After the inspection we spoke to eight relatives and contacted two additional health and social care professionals.