Froome Bank

Updated 8 January 2019

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 comprehensive inspection took place on 23 November 2018 and was unannounced.

The inspection team consisted of 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.

Prior to this inspection, we reviewed information we held about the service such as notifications. These are events which happen in the service the provider is required to tell us about. We also considered the last inspection report and information which had been sent to us by other agencies. We also contacted commissioners who had a contract with the service, and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion, which promotes the views and experiences of people who use health and social care.

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.

During the inspection, we spoke with eight people who used the service for their views about the service they received, and three relatives. We spoke with the provider’s representative, the registered manager, four care staff, the activities co-ordinator and a member of the cleaning staff. We also spoke with a member of staff from the catering suppliers.

We looked at the care records of two people who used the service and the management of medicines and a range of records relating to the running of the service. This included audits and checks and meeting records.

Updated 8 January 2019

We inspected the service on 23 November 2018. The inspection was unannounced. Froome Bank is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as 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 accommodates up to eight people.

On the day of our inspection eighteen people were living at the home.

People continued to benefit from living in a home where staff understood the risks to their safety and where they were protected from avoidable harm, discrimination and abuse. Staff supported people to stay as safe as possible as their needs and their safety needs changed. People were supported to have the equipment they needed to remain safe, and staff encouraged people to use this. Safe staff recruitment processes were used, to further reduce risks to people and there were enough staff to meet people’s care and safety needs. People did not have to wait long if they needed any assistance from staff, and people were confident staff would help them when they wanted.

There were systems in place to support people to have the medicines they needed to remain safe and well. Senior staff regularly checked people were administered their medicines safely. Staff were not allowed to administer people’s medicines until they had received the training they needed, and their competency had been checked. The registered manager and provider had put systems in place to review any untoward incidents, take any learning from these and reduce risk to people further.

People continued to receive an effective service and people were supported by staff who had received training and developed the skills needed to assist people. Staff assessed people’s needs and used this information to help people to settle into the home quickly. People made their own decisions about what they wanted to eat and drink. Where people needed additional support to have enough to eat and drink to remain well, this was discreetly provided by staff. People were confident if they needed any health care from other organisations staff would arrange this. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) were followed.

People liked the staff who cared for them and told us the staff were kind. People were treated with respect, and their rights to independence and privacy were acted on by staff. Staff knew what was important to people and encouraged them to make their own decisions about their day to day care. Staff used different ways of communicating with people, based on their preferences, where people needed extra support to make some decisions. People were supported by staff who understood how they liked to be reassured, when this was needed.

People continued to receive a responsive service. People’s needs were reflected in the care plans developed with them and their relatives, which were regularly reviewed. Staff adjusted people’s care plans as their wishes and needs changed. Relatives were asked for their views on the care to be offered. People’s care plans reflected advice provided by external health and social care professionals.

Some people enjoyed the independence of spending their time doing things they enjoyed on their own, such as reading and chatting to other people who lived at Froome Bank. Other people liked support from staff to do interesting things, and have trips out. The registered manager planned to review people’s access to activities, so they could be assured people would continue to enjoy a breadth of fun things to do at the time right for them.

Systems were in place to support people to raise any concerns or make any complaints. None of the people or their relatives had wanted to make any complaints because they considered the care provided was good. People also told us they were confident to talk to staff if they had any suggestions for developing their care or the services provided at the home, further. Staff worked effectively with other health and social care professionals so people’s wishes at the end of their lives were met.

The registered manager and provider checked the quality of people’s care, to ensure people were receiving safe and compassionate assistance. Where suggestion for developing the home and people’s care further had been made by people, their relatives and staff, these were actioned. These included further enhancement of the environment at the home, and improvements in the meals provided. People, their relatives and staff felt listened to by the senior team. The registered manager and provider recognised and celebrated the achievements of people living at the home and the staff supporting them.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.