17 July 2019
During a routine inspection
Friary Fields is a residential care home providing personal care and support to 22 people aged 50 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 34 people.
The service accommodates people in one adapted building with people’s bedrooms on two floors. It has shared lounges and dining areas and a conservatory providing access to a garden area with raised flower beds and seating areas. There is an access ramp for people who use a wheelchair.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
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.
The environment was poorly maintained, unclean and not furnished to a good standard.
People were not safe. Risks were not assessed and appropriately managed. We found no evidence that people had been harmed however, systems were either not in place or robust enough to demonstrate safety was effectively managed
When significant incidents had occurred, action was not always taken to keep people safe. The registered manager had failed to notify the CQC of significant events.
People did not receive an appropriate food and drinks to meet their specific dietary requirements.
People and relatives said they liked the staff. Staff were kind and caring. People's privacy and dignity was not always maintained.
Records showed that when people became unwell or needed additional support they had access to a range of health and social care professionals in respect of their well-being.
Staff recruitment was safe. Appropriate checks were undertaken to ensure staff employed were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Staff had access to mandatory training to do their job role and received regular supervision from their line manager.
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 3 January 2018).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part by notification of a specific incident. Following which a person using the service was hospitalised. This incident is subject to an ongoing adult’s safeguarding investigation. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident.
The information CQC received about the incident indicated concerns about the management of people’s safety within the service. We were informed that the service failed to seek prompt medical attention for a person living in the service and the service lacked robust infection control processes. This inspection examined those risks.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the Safe, Effective, Responsive and Well Led sections of this full report.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Friary Fields Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement
We have identified breaches in relation to premises and equipment (cleanliness and physical environment), safe care and treatment, the need for consent, lack of person – centred care, and good governance at this inspection.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.