Archived: Fairways

Updated 7 December 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on the 29 July 2015 and was unannounced.

This inspection team consisted of one inspector and one expert by experience who has had previous experience of supporting people with a learning disability. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Prior to our inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. We looked at statutory notifications the manager had sent us and information received from relatives and other agencies involved in people’s care. A statutory notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

People living at the service were unable to verbally communicate with us to tell us their experiences of how they were cared for and supported because of their complex needs. We observed care and support being delivered throughout the day in communal areas and we observed how people were supported to eat and drink at lunch time.

During our inspection we spoke with two relatives on the telephone, a visiting professional, the manager, the regional area manager, one senior support worker and two support staff.

We reviewed three people’s care plans and checked records as to how they were cared for and supported. We reviewed three staff files to check staff had been recruited, trained and supported to deliver care and support appropriate to people’s needs. We reviewed management records of the checks the manager and provider had carried out to ensure themselves that people received a quality and safe service. This included a review of records in relation to the management of people’s medicines.

Updated 7 December 2015

This inspection took place on the 29 July 2015 and was unannounced.

Fairways Residential Home is registered to provide personalised care and accommodation for up to eight people with a learning disability.

There was a manager who had recently been appointed in April 2015. The manager told us they had recently submitted their application to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were supported to access a range of community activities. However, further work was needed to provide people with adequate social stimulation whilst within the service and explore other opportunities for improved social inclusion and activities which promoted their independence.

People’s needs were assessed and support plans gave guidance to staff on how people were to be supported. However, we were not assured that sufficient steps had been taken to adequately assess people’s nutritional and hydration needs. Support plans contained very little information about how staff should meet people’s needs in relation to their nutritional and hydration needs including providing them with sufficient amounts of food and drink. Staff had not received training in how to assess and monitor people at risk of malnutrition.

The manager and staff demonstrated a good knowledge of their roles and responsibilities with regards to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the steps to take to enable people’s best interest to be assessed if they lacked capacity to consent to their care and treatment.

Staff demonstrated a good knowledge of the needs of people and had been trained in a range of relevant subjects to support them to provide safe, effective and responsive care to people.

There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs. Staffing levels were flexible to provide for people’s changing needs and provide support for them with their social and leisure interests where one to one support was required.

The provider had systems in place to assess the quality and safety of the service. Where shortfalls were identified, the provider had produced action plans with timescales. This showed that the provider responded to protect people and ensure their health, welfare and safety needs were met.

We found breaches of regulations which related to the insufficient safe systems when recruiting staff and meeting people’s nutritional and hydration needs. You can see what action we have told the provider to take at the back of this report.