Archived: Littlefair Care Home

Updated 27 May 2015

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 17 and 19 November 2014 and was unannounced.

The inspection team was made up of an 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’s area of experience was caring for someone who lived with dementia.

Before the inspection we reviewed information gathered from previous inspections, the registration history of the provider and statutory notifications we had received from the manager. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. We used all this information to decide which areas to focus on during our inspection.

The methods used to gather further information during the inspection included talking to fifteen people who used the service and talking to five staff on duty. We also carried out general observations of the care provided to people and reviewed the care records of four people. The manager also provided us with copies of the minutes of meetings, staff rotas, and maintenance audits to review after our visit.

The home was previously inspected on 16 August 2013 when we found no concerns.

Updated 27 May 2015

This inspection took place on 17 and 19 November 2014 and was unannounced.

Littlefair Care Home is registered to provide accommodation with personal care and support for up to 41 older people. At the time of this inspection there were 36 people living at the home. Everybody needed some form of help with mobility; one person was cared for in bed. Five people were identified as living with dementia.

A registered manager was in post when we visited. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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 service is run. During our inspection the manager was present, as was a representative of the provider. They made themselves available to us so we were able to ask questions about the service and to share our findings with them.

People and their relatives said that they felt safe, free from harm and would speak to staff if they were worried or unhappy about anything. They told us that the manager was approachable.

People told us that they were happy with care they received. We found that people received care and support that they needed to meet their individual needs.

Staff understood their role in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). This meant that, where people did not have the capacity to make decisions for themselves, the manager and her staff knew what to do to ensure people’s human rights had been maintained. They confirmed they had received training in these areas. People’s representatives had been involved in decision making processes when people lacked capacity to consent and DoLS applications had been made to ensure people were safe from harm and their human rights were upheld.

People said that the food at the home was good. There was evidence of people being offered choices in relation to food and drink. Where necessary, people were given help to eat their meal safely and with dignity.

We heard staff speaking kindly to people and they were able to explain how they developed positive caring relationships with people.

People said they were happy and comfortable with their rooms and we saw that they were attractively decorated with some personal touches including photographs and memorabilia.

People, their relatives and staff told us that there were enough staff on duty to support people at the times they wanted or needed.