Archived: Fern Lea Residential Home

Updated 24 September 2020

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place. As part of CQC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic we are conducting a thematic review of infection control and prevention measures in care homes.

This inspection took place on 25 August 2020 and was announced. The service was selected to take part in this thematic review which is seeking to identify examples of good practice in infection prevention and control.

Updated 24 September 2020

About the service:

Fern Lea Residential Home is a care home that was providing personal care to 16 people at the time of the inspection. The service accommodates up to 18 older people, some of whom may be living with dementia.

People's experience of using this service and what we found:

People received a caring and responsive service, from staff who were trained and well supported. There were enough staff available to meet people’s needs. Staff were attentive to people’s safety and wellbeing, and the provider acted to mitigate risks to people. However, aspects of environmental safety required improvement. The provider took action to address this. We have also made a recommendation about recruitment, to ensure practices were more robust.

People received their medicines as prescribed, and staff supported people to access a range of health professionals and specialists when required. There was good information available about people’s health needs and appointments; this promoted good communication with visiting professionals. People told us they enjoyed the food and staff ensured people had enough to eat and drink.

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 were involved in decisions and their choices respected.

The provider developed detailed care plans which gave staff clear information about people's needs and preferences. This helped staff provide person-centred care. Staff were caring and spoke about people with affection. People's privacy and dignity was respected.

People had opportunity to take part in activities and were supported to maintain contact with friends and relatives.

Systems were in place to check the quality and safety of the service and the registered manager demonstrated commitment to continual improvement. We have made a recommendation about quality assurance systems, to ensure checks in place are more effective in identifying all issues. We received positive feedback from people and staff about the management of the service. Staff were motivated and told us there was good team work. People and relatives were satisfied with the service and felt confident about raising any concerns should they ever need to.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the Care Quality Commission's (CQC) website at

www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated Good (published 4 August 2017).

Why we inspected:

This was a scheduled inspection based on the service's previous rating.

Follow up:

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