The Care Quality Commission
  • Care Home
  • Care home

Fernhaven

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

5 Derbe Road, Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, FY8 1NJ (01253) 781199

Provided and run by:
Mr Islamuddeen Duymun

All Inspections

23 March 2018

During a routine inspection

Fernhaven provides accommodation for up to six people, who are diagnosed with mental health needs. The home is situated in St Annes on Sea and is within easy reach of public transport, the beach and local amenities. Accommodation within the home is situated on three floors. The service has a lounge and a dining room situated on the ground floor. A designated smoking room is available on the first floor of the home. At the time of our inspection visit there were six people who lived at the home.

At the last inspection carried out on 19 November 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

People who lived at the home told us they were happy, felt safe and were treated with kindness at all times.

Staff had been recruited safely, appropriately trained and supported. They had skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care and social needs.

Risk assessments had been developed to minimise the potential risk of harm to people during the delivery of their care. These had been kept under review and were relevant to the care provided.

The service had systems in place to record safeguarding concerns, accidents and incidents and take necessary action as required. Staff had received safeguarding training and understood their responsibilities to report unsafe care or abusive practices.

Staff responsible for assisting people with their medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required. People told us they received their medicines at times they needed them.

People told us they were treated as individuals and received person centred care. Staff were caring, kind and promoted people’s independence.

We looked around the building and found it had been maintained, was clean and hygienic and a safe place to live. We found equipment had been serviced and maintained as required.

The service had safe infection control procedures in place. People who lived at the home told us they were happy with the standard of hygiene in place.

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

People’s care and support had been planned with them. People told us they had been consulted and listened to when it came to making choices about how their care would be delivered.

Care plans were organised and had identified care and support people required. We found they were informative about the support people had received.

People told us they were happy with the variety and choice of meals available to them. Staff encouraged people to prepare their own meals as far as possible.

People were supported to have access to healthcare professionals and their healthcare needs had been met. Comments from a visiting healthcare professional were complimentary about the support provided by the registered manager and the staff team.

People told us staff were caring towards them. Staff we spoke with understood the importance of high standards of care to give people meaningful lives. People told us staff who supported them treated them with respect and dignity.

The service had information with regards to support from an external advocate should this be required by people they supported.

The service had a suitable complaints procedure. People we spoke with told us they were happy with the service and had no complaints.

The service used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included regular audits and satisfaction surveys to seek people’s views about the service provided.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

19 November 2015

During a routine inspection

This inspection was conducted on 19 November 2015 and was unannounced. Fernhaven was last inspected on 3 September 2013 and was judged to be fully compliant in the areas we looked at.

Fernhaven Care Home provides residential accommodation for up to six people diagnosed with a mental illness. The registered manager and the support coordinator both have extensive experience of supporting people with a mental illness. Emphasis is placed on providing rehabilitation in order for people to maintain and extend independent living skills. Accommodation is comfortable and well maintained. A designated smoking room is available on the first floor of the

Home.

There was a registered manager at the service at the time of our inspection who was also the homeowner and had been the registered manager for a number of years. 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.’

Recruitment checks were in place however we found improvements needed to be made to make these processes more robust. We have made a recommendation about this.

We saw that people looked comfortable and at ease in the company of staff. We observed staff talking to people in a patient and respectful manner and it was apparent that staff knew the people they were caring for.

The service had procedures in place for dealing with allegations of abuse. Staff were able to describe to us what constituted abuse and the action they would take to escalate concerns.

We viewed the Medication Administration Records (MARs) for two of the people who used the service and found them to be satisfactorily completed with no omissions. The registered manager had implemented an effective audit schedule and medication audits took place. This helped ensure any potential errors could be quickly identified and addressed.

Staff confirmed they had access to a structured training and development programme. This ensured people in their care were supported by a skilled and competent staff team.

We saw that people received an induction prior to working at the home and were supported by experienced staff during the first few weeks of their employment although the recording of people’s induction consisted of a checklist only. We discussed with the registered manager the need to record inductions more thoroughly to evidence what guidance, training and support new staff received.

People were involved in choosing and preparing their own meals and we saw evidence of this on the day of the inspection, via people’s care plans and from talking with people and staff.

We observed staff treating people with respect and any assistance or interactions with people was done in a kind, patient and caring manner. People were at ease with staff and it was evident that staff knew the people well they were supporting. The atmosphere in the service was very relaxed because of the relationships that had been formed between people and staff providing support.

The home had an end of life policy and processes in place including advanced statement procedures in case of deteriorating health, wills, lasting power of attorney and funeral arrangements.

People we spoke with told us they knew how to raise issues or make complaints. They also told us they felt confident that any issues raised would be listened to and addressed although not one person we spoke with had made a formal complaint.

People’s care was based on an assessment of their needs, with information being gathered from a variety of sources. Evidence was available to demonstrate that people had been involved in making decisions about the way care and support was delivered.

There were a number of systems in place to enable the provider and registered manager to monitor quality and safety across the service. These included regular audits and quality checks in all aspects of the service. This included medication audits, care plan audits and infection control.

We observed the registered manager speaking with people in a respectful and courteous manner. He addressed each person by name throughout the day and from conversations he held with them it was clear that he understood their needs and knew all about them. The staff team were all very co-operative during the inspection. We found them to be passionate, very enthusiastic and dedicated to their work.

3 September 2013

During a routine inspection

During the visit we spoke with five people living at the home, the home owner/registered manager, the support coordinator, a support worker and a recently appointed domestic member of staff.

Although two of the people spoken with were more vocal in telling us what they thought, other discussions with people were more limited and brief. However, people consistently told us that they were happy living at the home and that they very much liked the staff that supported them. One person told us, 'Everything is fine. I am a lot happier than when I was in hospital'.

We asked people if they thought staff understood their needs and whether their individual needs were being met to their satisfaction. Again we received some positive feedback with one person telling us, 'To be truthful yes, they are very considerate and helpful and know what they are doing, without doubt. They are very good'.

People spoken with confirmed that they were aware of their individual care plan. One person told us that staff listened to what he had to say about the content of his care plan and that he had had his say in what was included. This meant that people were actively engaging in determining the sort of support they required and how this was to be achieved.

We asked people what they would do if they had any complaints or concerns and whether they knew who to speak with about their concerns. People confirmed that they did know, but were keen to stress that they had no concerns.

27 December 2012

During a routine inspection

During the course of our visit we spoke individually with one person living at the home and two other people in a communal area. The comments we received were all positive. One person told us about the range of social activities he enjoyed in the community and the support of staff in maintaining these interests. This person described the staff team as, 'Very good' and told us he liked living at the home and felt well supported.

This person also spoke positively about how he was able to make decisions and choices about how he wanted to spend his time. This included the activities and interests that were important to him including spending time in his bedroom or in the company of others. This meant that people were respected and their choices and decisions listened to and acted upon where ever possible.

Although conversation with the other two people was more limited, these people also confirmed that they felt well supported and well looked after. We were told that they were, 'Comfortable and the food is OK'.

We saw that staff were perceptive to the individual needs and requirements of each person and responded in a very person centred way. People told us that they felt safe living at the home. We were also told that people felt confident that the staff team would meet their individual needs in a supportive and caring way.

19 October 2011

During a routine inspection

During the course of the visit we spoke individually with two people living at the home, the support worker on duty and the support coordinator. The remaining four residents chose not to speak with us on this occasion. We were told that the philosophy in the home was 'Focused on the principles of the basic values of care and relapse prevention' and that emphasis was placed on encouraging people to retain and expand their life skills in preparation for independent living.

The two people that did choose to speak with us told us they were both very satisfied with the level of care and support provided, that they could come and go as they pleased, that staff always listened and where possible acted on what they said. We were also told that the staff group were helpful and, 'Well motivated in helping residents'. These two people also spoke positively about how they were able to make decisions, choose what activities or interests they wished to participate in, spend time in their bedroom or in the company of others and that staff were, ' Good at taking clients to do things and help themselves'.

We saw that staff were perceptive to the individual needs and requirements of each person and responded in a very person centred way.

The two people living at the home who talked with us, were pleased with the care and support provided and spoke very highly of the staff team. One person said that living at the home, 'Was working out OK' and that he felt comfortable living there. The other person told us, 'Its done me good being here with the support I have had'.

When asked, one person we spoke with said he felt safe and comfortable living at the home. The support coordinator confirmed that everybody working at the home had received adult protection training that was regularly updated.

People spoken with told us that what was important, was that staff always had time to sit and talk with them. 'They listen to what you say, any feelings you have we can always talk to staff about it'. We were also told that the staff group, 'Are very good, they do the best they can, the food is good, the bed is changed regularly and the level of cleanliness is very good'. We observed that staff responded positively to any requests in a timely manner indicating that a sufficient number of staff were on duty to fulfil assessed needs.

People told us that staff took time to sit and talk with them. We were also told that people were frequently asked about the service and the care and support offered to them. Residents spoken with liked their discussions with the staff team and people felt confident that any views expressed would be listened to and taken into account.