The Care Quality Commission
  • Care Home
  • Care home

The Forbury

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Church Street, Leominster, Herefordshire, HR6 8NQ (01568) 613877

Provided and run by:
Christopher Anthony Lutton

All Inspections

1 October 2020

During an inspection looking at part of the service

About the service

The Forbury is a residential care home which provides accommodation and personal care for up to 40 older people. The service specialises in providing care for people with dementia. At the time of our inspection, 36 people were living at the home.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

People and relatives fed back they were happy with the care provided. There were sufficient staff to meet people's care and support needs. Staff had been recruited safely. The management team had developed and implemented comprehensive audits to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Plans of care had been developed and reviewed with people and their relatives, and the staff team knew people they were supporting well.

Risks associated with people's care and support had been appropriately assessed and managed. People told us they felt safe living at the service and with the staff team who supported them. Staff recognised different types of abuse and how to report it. The registered manager understood their safeguarding responsibilities and how to protect people from abuse.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

At our inspection the service was rated Good in all areas and overall. The report was published on 04 November 2017.

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to people’s safety and staffing issues. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

27 September 2017

During a routine inspection

The Forbury is a residential care home which provides accommodation and personal care for up to 40 older people. The service specialises in providing care for people with dementia. At the time of our inspection, 33 people were living at the home.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. At this inspection, we found the service remained Good.

People still felt safe living at The Forbury, and were clear how to raise any concerns about their safety or wellbeing. Staff had received training in, and understood, how to recognise and report abuse. The risks to people had been assessed, reviewed and plans implemented to control these and keep people as safe as possible. The staffing levels maintained enabled staff to safely meet people’s individual needs. People received their medicines safely and as prescribed from trained staff.

Staff received the ongoing training and support needed to work safely and effectively. People’s consent to care was sought, and their rights under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 understood and promoted. People’s dietary and nutritional needs were assessed, recorded and managed with appropriate advice from nutrition specialists. People had support to access professional medical advice and treatment and attend routine medical appointments, where they needed this.

Staff approached their work in a kind and caring manner, and knew the people they supported well. People's contribution towards decision-making that affected them was actively encouraged. Staff understood and respected people’s rights to privacy and dignity.

People received care and support shaped around their individual needs and requirements. They had support to participate in a variety of one-to-one and group activities. People and their relatives knew how to raise complaints with the provider, and felt comfortable doing so.

The management team promoted open communication with people, their relatives and the community professionals involved in their care. Staff were clear what was expected of them, and expressed enthusiasm for their work at the home. The management team completed audits and checks to assess and improve the quality of the service people received at The Forbury.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

23 July 2015

During a routine inspection

The Forbury provides personal care to up to 40 people. The service specialises in providing care for people with dementia. On the day of our inspection there were 38 people living at the home.

The inspection took place on the 23 July 2015 and was unannounced.

There was a registered manager at this home. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered providers and registered managers 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.

People and their relatives said they had no concerns about the care their family member received. They told us staff were caring and promoted people’s independence. People told us they were able to maintain important relationships with support from staff. Staff we spoke with demonstrated an awareness and recognition of abuse and systems were in place to guide them in reporting these.

Staff were knowledgeable about how to manage people’s individual risks, and were able to respond to people’s needs. People were protected against the risks associated with medicines because the provider had appropriate arrangements in place to manage them. Staff had up to date knowledge and training to support people.

We saw staff treated people with dignity and respect whilst supporting their needs. Staff knew people well, and took people’s preferences into account and respected them. Staff had attended specific training in dementia to support the care they delivered. This gave staff the skills to use different ways to ensure people understood what was happening around them.

The provider had consistently assessed people’s ability to make specific decisions about their daily life. For example, if people were able to go outside on their own. Applications had been submitted to the supervisory body so the decision to restrict somebody’s liberty was only made by people who had suitable authority to do so.

We saw people had food and drink they enjoyed. People and their relatives said they had choices available to them, to maintain a healthy diet. People were supported to eat and drink well in a discreet and dignified way. Staff knew people’s needs and supported them to manage their risks.

People and their relatives told us they had access to health professionals as soon as they were needed. Relatives said they felt included in planning for the care their relative received and were always kept up to date with any concerns.

People were able to see their friends and relatives as they wanted. There were no restrictions on when people could visit the home. People and their relatives said that staff went the extra mile to welcome them when they had visitors, provided outings and events at the home that involved people, families and friends and staff.

People and their relatives knew how to raise complaints and felt confident that they would be listened to and action taken to resolve any concerns. The registered manager had arrangements in place to ensure people were listened to and action could be taken if required.

The registered manager and staff were passionate about enabling people who lived at the home to have a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Staff knew about people’s histories and involved people in pastimes that were centred on the person There were strong links with the community and people were supported to take part in projects that were happening within the community and at the home. An example of this was the involvement with local flower competition.

The registered manager promoted a proactive approach to include people’s views about their care and service development. People who lived at the home and staff were encouraged to be involved in regular meetings to share their views and concerns about the quality of the service. The registered manager and the provider used these views and concerns to improve how they provided a service for people living at the home. The provider and registered manager had effective systems in place to monitor how the service was provided, to ensure people received quality care.

18 November 2013

During a routine inspection

We were shown around the building by the registered manager. All the rooms were furnished and decorated to a high standard. The bedrooms were all well-furnished and people had their own possessions. The bathroom and toilet facilities were well equipped and modern. The lounge areas were light and comfortable. We saw that there was a good standard of cleanliness and hygiene and the building was well maintained. The registered manager told us the provider had an on-going programme of refurbishment.

We observed that the staff supported people in a friendly and polite way. The staff showed the people respect and made sure their dignity was maintained. We observed activities taking place in the afternoon. Many of the people were engaged in making Christmas decorations. We saw that the staff spent time supporting people who needed assistance with this.

We spoke to a family carer who told us that the staff looked after their relative and the other people, 'So well', they told us they were, 'So gentle and caring'. They said that if they ever had any concerns they would be comfortable to talk to the manager.

We spoke to four members of staff, the registered manager and the deputy manager during our visit. One member of staff said, 'We try to spend one to one time with people to really get to know them'. Another said, 'We learn about everyone's little ways and this often helps us understand when they need assistance but cannot ask for help'. They said they knew the people well and when someone was behaving out of character, the first thing they checked was their health.

13 June 2012

During a routine inspection

During our visit to the home we watched to see what life was like for people who live at the home. We looked at how staff provided care and listened to how they spoke to people. We spent time speaking with people who live at The Forbury and to four people's relatives. We also spoke with the provider, registered manager and four members of staff. We looked at some of the records kept to support staff in providing the correct care and also at recruitment and management records.

During our day at The Forbury we saw that the staff knew people at the home well and spoke with them in a friendly, respectful way. We observed that staff had time to spend with people. During the morning staff took people outside to sit in the garden. People told us that there were always things they could do; this included going for walks and going shopping. The staff used i-pads to provide people with a wider choice of things to do such as playing games and doing puzzles, watching television and listening to music. We learned that several people were supported to speak with relatives using Skype. This is a way of making telephone calls over the internet using a webcam so that you can see the people you are speaking to.

The relatives we met were very happy with the quality of the care their family members received. They spoke highly of the staff and said they had every confidence in them. The staff we met and spoke with were caring and professional in their approach and spoke about people who lived at The Forbury in an understanding and knowledgeable way. We saw that people looked comfortable and had been helped by staff to look their best. One relative told us that The Forbury had 'given my mother her life back'.

We found evidence that the staff team were attentive to people's health care needs and made contact with outside professionals when this was necessary. During our visit we noted several examples of staff making sure that people were having their care dealt with promptly.

The building was clean and there was a continuing programme of refurbishment which was of a high standard. For example, doors in the new extension and the bedroom furniture were solid oak.

The provider, registered manager and senior staff worked closely together to provide effective leadership to the staff team. During our inspection we found that there was a friendly atmosphere and evidence of effective teamwork.