FERN

FERN is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes in the community. On the day of the inspection the service was supporting seven people with a range of health and social care needs, such as people with a physical disability, sensory impairment or people living with dementia. Support was tailored according to people’s assessed needs within the context of people’s individual preferences and lifestyles to help people to live and maintain independent lives and remain in their homes. Not everyone using FERN receives the regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also take into account any wider social care provided.

People’s experience of using this service

People were happy with the care they received and felt relaxed with staff, they told us they were treated with kindness. People said they felt safe, were well supported and there were sufficient staff to care for them. A relative told us, “They wear all appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and I am happy. We feel safe when they come in.”

People’s independence was promoted, and their needs were met. People felt they were offered choice in the way their care was delivered, and they had no concerns around their dignity and privacy in their own homes. A relative told us, “We are happy with the service.” People had a regular team of care staff who arrived on time and knew them well. Another relative added, “They are always on time and they are all very nice, friendly and polite.”

Staff had received essential training and feedback from people indicated that they knew the best way to care for people in line with their needs and preferences. 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.

The provider had systems of quality assurance to measure and monitor the standard of the service and drive improvement. These systems also supported people to stay safe by assessing and mitigating risks, ensuring that people were cared for in a person-centred way and that the provider learned from any mistakes.

People told us they thought the service was well managed and they received high quality care that met their needs and improved their wellbeing from dedicated and enthusiastic staff. A relative told us, “The office rings and checks we are ok and happy with the care.”

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 26 April 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was the first inspection for this service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.