Place Farm House

Updated 15 July 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 undertaken by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

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

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

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). A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We sought feedback from health and social care professionals who have regular involvement with the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 8 people who used the service and sought feedback from 5 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 5 members of staff including the registered manager, care 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. This included 8 people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 2 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.

Updated 15 July 2023

Place Farm House is a residential care home providing the regulated activity of accommodation with personal care for up to 20 people. People had a range of care needs including frailty of age and people living with dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Accommodation was over 2 floors in one adapted building.

Since 1 May 2022 Place Farm House has been undergoing significant building work. This has led to some parts of the care home being inaccessible. Whilst the building work is taking place the provider has reduced the number of people they can support. At the time of our inspection there were 13 people using the service.

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

Staffing levels at night were not always sufficient to ensure people’s safety. Risks associated with mealtimes were not managed well. Some people and visitors described the building work as noisy and disruptive and did not feel the provider had considered the comfort of people during this time.

Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse and improper treatment. People told us they received safe care. Relatives had no concerns about their loved one's personal safety. People received their medicine safely. Infection prevention and control processes protected people form the risk of infection.

The culture of the service was positive, and people and staff were complimentary of the registered manager and provider. Systems and process were in place to monitor the quality of the service being delivered. Staff told us it was a good place to work.

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. Care was personalised to meet people's needs. People said they received good care from kind, caring and compassionate staff. A person said, “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else”.

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

Rating at last inspection.

The last rating for this service was good (published 9 November 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by the length of time since the last inspection. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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 Place Farm House 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.