- Care home
The Firs Care Home
Assessment report published 7 May 2025
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of Inspection: 25 March to 28 March 2025. The Firs Care Home provides the regulated activity Accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care for up to 32 older people. At the time of this inspection there were 25 people using the service.
This inspection was completed to check the provider had taken action to keep people safe. The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to safe care and treatment. Following the last inspection the provider sent us an action plan to tell us what actions they would take to improve and by when. At this inspection we did not find enough improvements had been completed and the provider remained in breach of this regulation. We found fire doors were still being held open by various objects such as footstools and wooden wedges. This meant the door would not close automatically in the event of a fire which placed people at risk of harm. Whilst the provider had taken action to install more effective window restrictors, we found 1 window that had been taken off the restrictor and was wide open. We reported this to the registered manager during the inspection. In addition, we also found a breach of regulation in relation to good governance.
Governance systems were not effective in assessing and monitoring the quality and safety at the service. We found a number of incidents which had not been notified to the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Although the provider had carried out checks at the service and identified shortfalls there was no information on actions needed to make improvements. Following our last inspection the provider submitted an action plan. We were told all actions would be completed by 6 January 2025. During this inspection we found these actions had not all been implemented.
People and staff told us there were enough staff available. However, night staff numbers had decreased prior to this inspection. Whilst we observed no harm during this inspection, it was not evident how people’s needs were being effectively supported at night when staff were completing personal care. There were people living at the service who required 2 members of staff at times to support mobility and personal care. When staff were supporting these people this meant there was no staff available to respond to other people’s requests for assistance at night.
The service was clean and we observed staff were using personal protective equipment safely.
Risks to people’s safety had been identified and measures were in place to monitor risks. The care manager told us they were reviewing all risk management plans to make sure they were up to date and accurate. Medicines were being managed safely and people had their medicines as prescribed. The local GP visited the home every week and reviewed people’s needs.
In instances where CQC have decided to take civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this information on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded.
People's experience of this service
People were positive about the staff and the quality of their care. Comments about the staff included, “Staff are exceptional, and they are on the ball” and “Staff are decent and helpful.”
People told us they felt safe and knew how to raise concerns. Some people were not sure who the manager was but told us they would raise any concerns with staff if needed. Comments from people included, “Staff are brilliant, I have no complaints”, “I feel safe here, I am able to see a nurse and doctor when needed” and “I feel safe here, it is peace of mind for me to be here with staff on hand if needed.”
People were happy with the help they had from staff to manage their medicines. One person said, “Staff do my medicines, I am happy with this arrangement.”
People told us they were happy at the service; they liked their room and were able to join in with activities if they wanted. Comments from people included, “I am happy here, happy with everything” and “Living here suits me fine, I like my own company but if I want company, it is there for me, best of both worlds.”
While people expressed general satisfaction with their care our inspection found elements of care did not meet the expected standards.