Archived: Bransford Limited t/a Fern House

Updated 6 April 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 15 February 2017 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form the provider completes to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. The provider returned the PIR and we took this into account when we made the judgements in this report.

We looked at the information we held about the provider and the service. This included information received from the local authority commissioners and the statutory notifications the registered manager had sent us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. Commissioners are people who work to find appropriate care and support services which are paid for by the local authority. We also contacted Healthwatch who are an independent consumer champion who promote the views and experiences of people who use health and social care.

We met with six people who lived at the home and saw the care and support offered to people at different times of the day. They were able to tell us how they felt by using a mixture of verbal communication, facial expressions and body language.

We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager and four staff members. We looked at the care records of one person, the medicine management arrangements and at compliments received, staffing, training and the quality of the service.

Updated 6 April 2017

This inspection took place on 15 February 2017 and was unannounced.

The provider of Bransford Limited T/A Fern House is registered to provide accommodation with personal care for up to seven people with a range of needs including dementia care.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection who is also the registered provider. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 home is run.

People described to us they felt safe and staff treated them well. Staff knew how to identify harm and abuse and how to act to protect people from the risk of harm which included the signs which may confirm someone is being abused. The registered manager had arrangements in place to show there were sufficient staff with the right skills to meet people’s needs with risks to their safety reduced.

The registered manager had recruitment arrangements in place helped to make sure new staff appointed were of good character and were suitable to work with people who lived at the home. Staff received on-going training opportunities and the registered manager continually considered training which could enhance the care provided. Although staff felt supported in their roles the regularity of staffs one to one meetings and group staff meetings was being focused upon to ensure staff had different opportunities open to them to discuss their roles.

Staff respected people's rights to make their own decisions and choices about their care and treatment. People's permission was sought by staff before they helped them with anything. Staff made sure people understood what was being said to them by using gestures, short phrases or words. When people did not have the capacity to make their own specific decisions these were made in their best interests by people who knew them well.

Staff met people's care and support needs in the least restrictive way. Where it was felt people received care and support to keep them safe and well, which may be restricting their liberty action was taken. This ensured people's liberty was not being unlawfully restricted.

We saw staff supported people to remain healthy and well. People received their medicines at the right time and in the right way to promote good health. People had a choice of food to eat and were prompted to maintain a healthy, balanced diet. People's routine health needs were looked after and people had access to healthcare when they needed it.

People were treated with kindness, compassion and respect. There were many examples of staff showing they cared for people and the warmth of touch was used, such as, hugs and words of reassurance. People were happy with their care and were confident if they did have any concerns they could express these to the staff or the registered manager.

People were supported by staff they knew well and were familiar with their different routines and individual needs. Staff promoted what people could do and supported people with dignity when they needed a little help. People's right to private space and time to be alone and be with their visitors was accepted and respected.

Staff provided care and support to people which was personalised and responded to changes in their needs. People's preferences and wishes were known to staff and were respected. Staff supported people to follow their own interests and opportunities to establish new group social interests were continually being considered to enhance people’s quality of life.

Staff enjoyed their work and were guided by a registered manager who wanted to ensure staff were motivated to be the best they could be in their work. Staff appreciated the daily ‘hands on’ approach of the registered manager which assisted both people who lived at the home and staff alike to share any issues and suggestions they had to make improvements to the care provided.

Many staff had worked at the home for a long time and spoke about their shared feelings of providing good quality care in a homely environment. Staff spoke about people who they supported with fondness and there was a shared sense they were all part of a large family. This was also shared by people who lived at the home.

The registered manager had a clear vision for the service and had newly recruited a deputy manager to support them in continuing to drive through improvements for the benefit of people who lived at the home. This included enhancing regular quality checks in different aspects of the service, group meetings with people, their relatives and staff to help support continued improvements so people received a good quality service at all times.