Brierfields

Updated 16 February 2022

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 7 February 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 16 February 2022

About the service

Brierfields is a single storey residential care home in Failsworth, Oldham providing personal care to 15 people at the time of the inspection, some of whom were living with dementia. The service can support up to 37 people. All bedrooms are single occupancy and have an en suite toilet and sink. There are two enclosed garden areas, one of which is accessible to wheelchair users.

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

The service had an open and supportive culture. Systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of care delivered.

The premises were clean, homely and well maintained. Medicines were managed safely, however, some people’s medicines information required reviewing. We have made a recommendation about the management of some medicines.

Staff had awareness of safeguarding and knew how to raise concerns; steps were taken to minimise risk where possible.

We observed a relaxed atmosphere throughout the home where people could move around freely as they wished. There were enough trained staff to support people safely.

Recruitment processes were robust and helped to ensure staff were appropriate to work with vulnerable people.

People’s needs continued to be assessed before starting with the service. People and their relatives, where appropriate, had been involved in the care planning process.

Staff were competent and had the skills and knowledge to enable them to support people safely and effectively. Staff received the training and support they needed to carry out their roles effectively. Staff received regular supervisions and appraisals.

We observed many caring and positive interactions between staff and people throughout the inspection. Staff had formed genuine relationships with people and knew them well and were seen to be consistently caring and respectful towards people and their wishes.

Staff supported people to access other healthcare professionals when required and supported people to manage their medicines safely.

Staff worked with other agencies to provide consistent, effective and timely care. We saw evidence that the staff and management worked with other organisations to meet people’s assessed 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.

The provider and deputy manager followed governance systems which provided oversight and monitoring of the service.

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 16 January 2019). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection enough improvement had been made, and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Brierfields on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.