The Firefly Club Care Home

Updated 7 September 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

The Firefly Club is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. The Firefly Club is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

In addition to being a ‘care home’ the provider offered a domiciliary care service which provided personal care to people living in their own homes and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 people who used the service and 2 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spent time with 4 people observing the quality of care and support they received. This helped us to understand the experiences of people who we were unable to communicate with us. We spoke with 9 members of staff including the registered manager, domiciliary care manager, managing director, positive behaviour support lead, head of people, lead support worker, 2 support workers and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. These included 6 people’s care records and multiple medicines records. We looked at 6 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Following the onsite visits, we continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We received feedback from 1 relative and 1 health and care professional.

Updated 7 September 2023

About the service

The Firefly Club is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 8 people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. The service also provides a domiciliary care service to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection there were 6 people living in the residential care home and 4 people using the domiciliary care service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Improvements had been made following our last inspection. Staff understood people’s risks and the support they needed to remain safe. Records did not always provide staff with comprehensive guidance in relation to all the risk associated with people’s care. Some records relating to the management of the service were also not sufficiently comprehensive. The provider’s internal monitoring processes did not always identify these shortfalls and the provider was working at strengthening the effectiveness of their audits. We have made a recommendation in relation to people’s finance records.

Right Support: People’s care planning documentation was personalised and reflected their strengths and needs. The registered manager promoted a positive risk-taking, person-centred culture which had been embraced by the staff team. There was a positive culture of reviewing and reducing restrictions placed on people to keep them safe to support people to have maximum choice and control of their lives. The registered manager had made appropriate DoLS applications and had effective systems in place to renew and meet any conditions of authorised applications. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Right Care: People told us they were happy. People appeared comfortable with staff and knew them. People were offered choices and various activities. People were spoken to respectfully, patiently and provided time to process and respond to information. People’s care planning documentation promoted independence, dignity and privacy.

Right Culture: Since the last inspection the provider had made changes which had improved the environment. People were being supported to choose items for their home and ideas and suggestions were continuously being sought from people, relatives and staff. The registered manager and staff team were supporting people to identify new activities and experiences.

People and staff told us there were enough staff. Our observations during the inspection confirmed this. Since the last inspection training had been prioritised by the provider. The registered manager had effective systems in place to monitor staff training. Staff told us they felt supported by the registered manager and the provider and were able to make suggestions and provide feedback to improve the service. The registered manager and provider were passionate about supporting best outcomes for people and improving people’s quality of life and had plans to continue to improve the service for people.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 30 January 2023) and there were 7 breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found some improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of 6 of the regulations. However, we found the provider remained in breach of regulation regarding governance.

This service has been in Special Measures since 30 January 2023. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified a breach in relation to good governance at this inspection. We have made a recommendation in relation to financial records.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.