Background to this inspection
Updated
14 August 2019
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
This inspection was carried out by one inspector and one 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
Brendoncare Froxfield 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. The registered manager was not based at Brendoncare Froxfield but visited on a weekly basis. Day to day management of the service was delegated to the ‘Home Manager’ who reported to the registered manager regularly.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
Before this inspection, we reviewed the information we already held about the service. This included notifications sent to us by the provider. Notifications are information about specific incidents the service is required to tell us about.
We sought feedback from the local safeguarding team and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.
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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
During this inspection, we spoke to six people, one relative and one volunteer about their experience. We also spoke to eleven staff members including care staff, activities co-ordinators the head chef, a physiotherapist, a nurse, the deputy manager, home manager, learning and development manager, head of care services, and the registered manager.
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.
We reviewed a range of records, this included four care plans and multiple medication administration records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We also looked at several documents related to the management of the service and premises.
After the inspection
We spoke with two professionals who regularly work with the service.
Updated
14 August 2019
About the service
Brendoncare Froxfield is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for people aged 65 and over. The service was providing care to 38 people at the time of the inspection, the service can support up to 44 people in one building across 3 separate wings. One of these wings specialises in providing care for people living with dementia.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were safe. There were systems in place to safeguard people from abuse and staff received training in safeguarding. Staff knew how to raise concerns both within the service and externally.
People were cared for by staff who were recruited safely and had undergone appropriate pre-employment checks.
Medicine was received, stored and administered safely. People told us they were happy with the way the service assisted them with their medicines.
The service recorded and analysed incidents, where possible the service used this information to reduce future risk to people.
We received some feedback that people waited a long time for assistance when using their call bell. The service regularly audited the call bell response times using a report printed from the call bell system. This had been unable to identify this as some staff turned off call bells and said they would come back, this meant the report did not accurately reflect how long people waited for assistance. When we discussed this with the management team, they told us this would be addressed with care staff immediately.
People’s health and care needs were assessed in line with national guidance. Assessments included people’s spiritual, emotional and religious needs.
People were supported to have a balanced diet at the service. People they told us they enjoyed the food and were given choice. The service catered for specialised and religious diets appropriately and respectfully.
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 were supported to access healthcare support when required, the service worked closely with other healthcare professionals in order to provide effective care and treatment.
People were cared for by staff who treated them respectfully and kindly. People were supported to have maximum control and input in their care and treatment.
The service supported people to access a range of activities and social events. This included group activities and outings as well as trips for specific people designed to be their ‘perfect day’. People told us they enjoyed these.
People were supported to spend time and maintain relationships with the people that were important to them. The service held a number of in-house events to support relatives and friends to spend time with people at the service.
The service had good links with the local community and had a regular group of volunteers who visited and fundraised for the service.
The management team maintained good oversight of the service and encourage improvement and innovation within the staff team. Staff and people told us they felt the management team were accessible and supportive.
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 outstanding (published 21 December 2016).
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.