Archived: The Fountains Care Centre

Updated 13 February 2015

The inspection team consisted of one inspector, a pharmacist inspector and an expert-by-experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The expert-by-experience had expertise in older people’s care.

Before the inspection the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information included in the PIR along with information we held about the home. We contacted the commissioners of the service and Healthwatch Havering to obtain their views about the care provided in the home.

During our visit we spoke with nine people who used the service, 10 relatives, 12 care staff, two laundry assistants, one maintenance worker, two kitchen assistants, the acting manager and the regional manager. We observed care and support in communal areas and observed how people were being supported with their meals during lunchtime. We looked at eight people’s care files, five staff files and a range of records including the home’s policies, procedures, all people’s medicines and medicine administration record sheets (MARS), and staff rotas.

This report was written during the testing phase of our new approach to regulating adult social care services. After this testing phase, inspection of consent to care and treatment, restraint, and practice under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) was moved from the key question ‘Is the service safe?’ to ‘Is the service effective?’

‘The ratings for this location were awarded in October 2014. They can be directly compared with any other service we have rated since then, including in relation to consent, restraint, and the MCA under the ‘Effective’ section. Our written findings in relation to these topics, however, can be read in the ‘Is the service safe’ sections of this report.’

Updated 13 February 2015

We carried out this unannounced inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 on 24th July 2014 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 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which looks at the overall quality of the service. The provider was compliant with all the areas we reviewed at our last inspection on 10 July 2013.

The Fountains Care Centre is a home registered to provide accommodation and support with nursing and personal care for 62 people. At the time of this inspection 53 people were living at the home. The home is located in the London Borough of Havering, in a residential area and has car parking for visitors. Accommodation is on two floors and there are two passenger lifts.

Mental capacity assessments and best interest meetings were in place where required for people who were unable to make decisions for themselves. The Mental Capacity Act (2005) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) is law protecting people who do not have mental capacity, which means they may not be able to make some decisions for themselves.

People's care plans contained information about their needs, goals, and the support staff had to provide to meet their needs. We saw these had been followed up and people had care and support that reflected their needs. The care plans had been regularly reviewed and signed by care staff. This allowed staff to identify changes in people’s needs and put an action plan that appropriately reflected their new needs.

People's care plans showed their individual health care needs were addressed. Each person was registered with a GP and we noted the GP visited every week. People who used the service and, where appropriate, their relatives were involved in the review of people's care plans. All the care staff we spoke with demonstrated a good understanding of people's care and support needs.

The home was clean and tidy during our visit. People and visitors told us the home was clean. One person said, "The cleaner comes in every day." The home had a full-time maintenance person who made sure that the facilities and equipment were maintained. The home was managed by an acting manager who had submitted an application form to CQC to be a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider. The acting manager was supported by a deputy manager. People who used the service, visitors and staff told us the acting manager promoted a positive and motivating culture that was transparent and inclusive.