29 June 2021
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Firbank Residential Care Home is a care home registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 26 people in one adapted building. At the time of the inspection 17 people were living at the home.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Although people told us they felt safe, we found that people did not receive a service that ensured they were safe. Not all people living at Firbank Residential Care Home had appropriate care plans and risk assessments in place, in order to guide staff how to meet their needs and keep them safe.
People were not cared for in a safe environment and we found a number of safety concerns in relation to the environment throughout the inspection. Including, but not limited to, a lack of effective window restrictors, fire safety concerns; including unsafe escape routes and cluttered communal areas.
Risks associated with infection prevention and control were found at the inspection, including, but not limited to; areas of the home which could not be effectively cleaned due to wear and tear, lack of cleaning systems and staff not always wearing personal protective equipment in line with government requirements.
There were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people’s needs in a timely way. However, the recruitment of staff did not always ensure people were protected against the risks of unsuitable staff being employed. People were supported to take their medicines safely.
People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice.
Robust systems were not in place to help ensure staff had received adequate training in a timely way to equip them to do their roles, safely and effectively. This had resulted in a system being implemented by the management team and a new training provider being introduced to the service. However, at the time of the inspection we could not be assured that all staff had received essential training.
Although peoples care records did not always contain detailed and clear information for staff on how to best support people with their health conditions, most staff demonstrated they understood people’s needs and how these should be managed. People were supported to access healthcare services when needed. People were supported to eat a varied and nutritious diet.
Feedback from people, relatives and staff was positive about the management of the service and the level of care received. We did observe interactions by staff that were caring, and kind and people were treated with dignity and respect. People were confident that if they had any concerns, these would be dealt with effectively by the management team.
Quality and safety monitoring systems were not adequate, and we found there was a lack of governance processes and systems in place to help ensure the safe running of the service. Without these systems, the provider and manager could not be proactive in identifying issues and concerns in a timely way and acting on these.
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 8 January 2018).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about unsafe medicines management, infection control, staffing, training, recruitment practices, fire safety and poor management and leadership. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.
We have identified breaches in relation to the safe care and treatment for people, consent, recruitment, training, deprivation of liberties, premises and equipment and good governance at this inspection.
Following this inspection we served a Notice of Proposal to cancel the providers registration. The provider had 28 days to appeal this proposal. No appeal was received. Therefore the providers registration was cancelled.