Fairfield House

Updated 22 April 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

One inspector

Service and service type

Fairfield House 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 had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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 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.

During the inspection

We spoke briefly with two people who used the service. We spoke with seven staff including the registered manager, deputy manager and care workers. Due to people’s communication needs we were unable to gain some people’s views on the service, therefore we carried out observations of staff interactions with the people who lived there.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and medication records. Records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at staff feedback and quality assurance records. We spoke with three relatives of people who live at the service.

Updated 22 April 2020

About the service

Fairfield House provides accommodation for up to four people with learning disabilities. The service is in a large detached house with extensive outside space. There were three people living at the service at the time of our inspection.

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

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

There was a strong person-centred culture in the service. Staff were highly motivated to provide people with tailored opportunities to ensure they achieved the best outcomes. Staff were skilled at using their knowledge of people’s preferences to encourage and motivate people to try new things. Staff understood the importance of social inclusion and were creative in developing ways people could be engaged in the local community. People were supported to maintain and develop relationships.

Staff’s in-depth knowledge of how people communicated ensured people had maximum control over their lives and how they spent their time. The registered manager and staff were committed to developing people’s skills and knowledge so they could make informed choices. Staff had a comprehensive knowledge of the people they supported. They were able to describe each person’s character and personality in detail, how this impacted on each aspect of their life and how their care needed to be delivered.

People were valued by staff members, who were keen to see them develop and achieve. Staff were committed to continuously finding ways to improve people’s lives. Relatives gave consistently positive feedback about people’s lives and opportunities at Fairfield.

People were supported by a staff team who had developed understood people’s characters and what could cause them anxiety.

Staff had a comprehensive understanding of how people communicated. This helped ensure people people’s views were heard and their diverse needs met.

Staff were recruited safely and received regular development opportunities and training. People were supported by staff who had a strong rapport with them and, where possible had similar interests. Staff were encouraged to share their own interests, skills and experiences to benefit people.

People were supported to stay fit and healthy and their medicines were managed safely.

The physical environment reflected each individual’s personality and there were plans to involve people in developing the outside space to provide people with further pastimes and opportunities.

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.

There was an effective quality assurance process in place. The provider’s governance systems promoted continuous improvement.

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 (14 September 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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk