Archived: Pemberton Fold

Updated 11 March 2020

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.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector 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

Pemberton Fold is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with CQC. 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 checked the information that we held about the service. This included statutory notifications sent to us by the provider about incidents and events that had occurred at the service. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We also gathered feedback about the service from the local authority and 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 this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with ten people who lived at the service and seven relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the regional manager, registered manager, deputy manager and care workers. We also spoke with one visiting health professional.

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 five people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at five 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 11 March 2020

About the service

Pemberton Fold is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 60 people aged 65 and over. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 55 people.

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

People and their relatives told us the home was a safe place to live. One person said, “The staff are brilliant, really good. I’d say it’s safe here.” Staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding vulnerable people and the home had effective systems in place to safeguard people from abuse. Staff were available when people needed support. One person told us, “The Staff are great. If I press my buzzer they are here in a minute.” The home was well-maintained, safe and clean.

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.

People were supported to have enough to eat and drink and were offered regular drinks and snacks throughout the day. However, we received mixed feedback about the food and some dining tables were not as well-presented as others. We have made a recommendation regarding the provision of food and people’s mealtime experience. People and their relatives told us staff ensured they promptly accessed other healthcare services when needed.

People and their relatives gave us positive feedback about the staff at the home. One relative commented, “They [the staff] are a caring team and they pop in and check on [Relative] a lot.” Staff were friendly and familiar with people living at the home and people appeared happy and comfortable in the company of the staff. We observed many kind and caring interactions throughout our inspection.

People’s care plans were person-centred and gave staff the insight and guidance required to support people safely and effectively, along with getting to know them. There was a wide range of activities for people living at the home to take part in and staff had positively engaged with people living at the home, the local community and other organisations to assist with this. Staff also supported people to keep up with their religious preferences. For example, church ministers of different denominations regularly visited the home to carry out services.

There was a kind and caring culture amongst staff at the home. Managers, care workers and other staff all had similarly warm and friendly relationships with the people living at the home. People and their relatives told us staff were approachable and listened to them. One person said, “They always say to me, ‘if you’ve got any problems, tell us and we will get it sorted.”

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 3 July 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.