Ferndene Care Home

Updated 1 February 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors 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

Ferndene Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Ferndene Care Home is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post who was on annual leave.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke with 8 people who used the service and 2 relatives. We spoke with a housekeeper, the cook, a registered nurse, 2 senior care staff and 6 care staff. We also spoke with the deputy manager and the regional manager. We reviewed a number of documents associated with people’s care needs, this included medicine administration records and 5 care plans. We also reviewed documents associated with the running of the service, this included quality monitoring records, polices, environmental risk assessments and cleaning schedules.

Updated 1 February 2023

About the service

Ferndene Care Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 38 older people and people living with dementia at the time of the inspection. The care home can accommodate 48 people in one purpose-built building.

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

People using the service were safe. The provider had systems and processes in place to protect people from abuse and staff were aware of their responsibilities in keeping people safe. The risks to people’s safety were regularly assessed and there were measures in place to reduce these risks. The registered manager had processes in place to learn from accidents and incidents to further reduce risk to people living at the service.

People were supported by adequate numbers of safely recruited staff who had received appropriate training for their roles and were supported with regular supervision from their line managers.

People’s medicines were well managed, and people were protected from the risk of infection as the staff maintained good infection, prevention and control practices.

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 lived in a well-maintained environment supported by staff who treated them with respect and dignity. They and their relatives were involved in the development of their care plans to ensure they received personalised care.

People were supported to maintain relationships with family and friends. The service followed government guidance when welcoming visitors into the service and people were encouraged to take part in social activities of their choice.

The registered manager took complaints or concerns about people’s care seriously and responded to complaints in a positive way following the providers complaints procedure.

There were effective quality monitoring processes in place to support good standards of care. People, relatives and staff told us the manager was open, approachable and responsive. Staff felt supported by them.

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 19 May 2022). 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

We undertook this inspection to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection. We undertook a focused inspection. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm. Please see the Safe, Responsive and Well Led sections of this full report.

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. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Ferndene Care Home 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.