Archived: Fircroft Home

Updated 13 April 2022

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 included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements. 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

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors 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.

Service and service type

Fircroft Home is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

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 sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 four people who used the service about their experience of the care provided and we spent time observing people receive care and support. We spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager, senior support worker and support workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at four 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.

After the inspection

We spoke to four relatives of people who lived at the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke to two health and social care professionals who worked alongside the service. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at further care records, training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 13 April 2022

About the service

Fircroft Home provides residential care and accommodation for up to 18 older people who have a learning disability. Some people are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 16 people living at the service.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

Based on our review of Safe and Well-led the service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right support

People were supported by sufficient levels of suitably trained staff and were encouraged to be as independent as possible. Staff worked well with people to support them to pursue their hobbies and interests.

Right care

Staff knew people well and ensured that people received the support they needed to meet their individual care needs. People's rights were promoted, and they were protected from discrimination. People were treated with dignity and their privacy was respected.

Right culture:

The culture of the service was open and supportive to people. The management team had ensured that there was a positive ethos at the service which enabled people to feel more confident and encouraged them to take on new challenges if they wanted to.

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

People told they felt safe at the service. Staff had a good understanding of people's needs and knew how to manage risks associated with their care. Staff understood their responsibilities in terms of keeping people safe from abuse and avoidable harm. People received their medicines safely and the environment was clean and hygienic.

The registered manager was approachable and supportive, staff told us they enjoyed working at the service and were listened to. The service worked well with health and social care professionals to achieve the best possible outcomes for people. There were quality monitoring systems in place to ensure any shortfalls were identified and actions were taken to make changes when needed.

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 requires improvement (published 08 August 2019) and there was a breach of regulation. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 27 March 2019. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve governance at the service.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this 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

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Fircroft Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.