Ferfoot Care Home

Updated 18 January 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 Care Act 2014.

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

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

Ferfoot Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. 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. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff, the registered manager and the regional operations manager. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 10 people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relations to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed, this included meeting minutes, health and safety service records and fire checks, quality monitoring records and infection prevention and control checks.

After the inspection

We spoke with a further five members of staff and four relatives on the telephone for their feedback about the service. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and survey data from people and relatives.

Updated 18 January 2022

About the service

Ferfoot Care Home provides accommodation and personal care for up to 52 people. Accommodation is provided on two floors accessed by stairs and a lift. There are communal rooms for people to use and a secure garden accessed from the ground floor. At the time of the inspection there were 26 people living at the service, some of whom had dementia.

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

Risks to people’s safety were identified and action taken to mitigate risks. This included involving healthcare professionals if needed and obtaining specialist equipment. Risk management plans were reviewed on a regular basis with a monitoring system called ‘resident of the day’. Where additional monitoring was taking place, staff completed records accurately and at the time of the activity. Senior team members regularly checked the monitoring records to make sure information was accurate.

People had their medicines as prescribed by staff who had training on how to administer medicines. Staff also had their competence checked to make sure they were safely managing medicines. People were able to see their GP or other professionals as and when needed. Staff liaised with a range of professionals to make sure people’s health needs were met.

People were being supported by staff who knew them well. Comments from people and relatives about the staff were positive. Staff were described as kind and caring, and we observed care being provided in a dignified way. People had their own care plans which contained a range of information about people’s needs. This included some life history information so staff could get to know and understand people’s needs.

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.

Staff had training on a range of subjects and had support from the registered manager and provider. There were regular team meetings and opportunity for staff to have supervision. Staff told us communication at the home had improved and they felt well supported by the management. Staff had been recruited safely and there were enough staff on duty to meet people’s needs. The provider told us recruitment had been challenging in recent months, so they were supporting the home by not taking many new admissions. They wanted to make sure they had enough staff to meet people’s needs safely.

The home was being kept clean by a team of domestic staff who had cleaning schedules in place. Some areas of the home had been re-painted and there had been some refurbishments. New furniture had been bought and the provider planned more improvements in the near future.

People were able to have visitors in their rooms. All visiting had to be pre-planned so the home could monitor numbers of people in the building. Visitors had to take a Lateral Flow Test prior to being able to enter the building. They were also expected to wear personal protective equipment (PPE). Any professionals or expected contractors were required to demonstrate they had been vaccinated against COVID-19 before being able to enter the home.

Staff had plenty of PPE to use and had been trained on using it safely. Staff had been trained on working safely during COVID-19 and had updates on good practice for infection prevention and control. The provider had regular calls with managers to keep them updated with government guidance. Changes and updates were cascaded down to staff with daily heads of department meetings.

Quality monitoring systems were in place. The registered manager told us they carried out their own unannounced spot checks during the night or very early in the morning. The provider also supported quality monitoring by carrying out regular audits and with regional management visits. There was a complaints procedure in place and people and relatives had opportunities to share their views.

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 24 June 2021) and there were three breaches of regulations. We served the provider Warning Notices for the breaches of regulations 11 and 17 and a requirement notice for a breach of regulation 18. We returned to carry out a targeted inspection on 10 August 2021 to check action had been taken in relation to the Warning Notices. We found the provider had taken enough action to no longer be in breach of regulations 11 and 17.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection to check the provider had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. In addition, at the comprehensive inspection in April 2021 we judged well-led was inadequate. When a key question is rated inadequate, we return within six months to review the key question.

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 Ferfoot Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.