1 August 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Fremantle Court is a care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 90 people. The service provides support to older people and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 83 people using the service.
The home accommodates people in a purpose-built property with 6 wings. Each wing has single, en-suite bedrooms, with adapted bathrooms and lounge/dining areas close by. There are several quiet areas around the building as well as shared facilities, including a hairdressing salon and cinema room.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe at the service. There were systems to protect people from abuse and staff told us they felt confident in speaking with senior staff and managers if they had any concerns. Risks to people’s health and safety were effectively managed and action was taken to minimise the likelihood of injury or harm. The premises were well-maintained, clean and regular checks were carried out to ensure it was safe.
There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff had been recruited using robust procedures. People provided positive feedback about staff, although a couple of people felt there were some barriers to how their care was delivered where English was a second language for staff. For example, in how they were spoken with.
People received their medicines safely. Records were well-maintained and staff were regularly assessed to ensure they followed safe medicines procedures. We have made a recommendation regarding improving protocols for medicines prescribed for occasional use, in order that these are centred on the needs of each person.
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 service had experienced changes of managers over recent years. This was something staff, relatives, people who used the service and external agencies commented on. They were keen for the new manager to stay and told us about the improvements they had made in the short time they had been at the service.
Improvements had been made to records management and governance systems. There were systems to engage with people and seek their feedback. Staff were kept up to date with people’s health and well-being through handovers and daily morning meetings.
Community professionals spoke positively about how staff and managers engaged with them and listened to their advice, to improve people’s care. Relatives also told us how their family members’ health and well-being had improved since living at 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 (report published 8 February 2023).
The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.
At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about medicines and staffing. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We did not find evidence people were at risk of harm from these concerns.
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.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Fremantle Court on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.