3 May 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
The Flowers Care Home Limited is a residential care home providing personal care to older people and people living with dementia. The Flowers Care Home Limited accommodates 23 people in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were 14 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service had an inconsistent approach that sometimes put people’s safety and well-being at risk. The provider did not always manage risks well. Medicines were not always managed safely.
Staffing levels were generally safe although staff were sometimes stretched.
Robust recruitment checks were completed before staff started working at the service. The service had systems which safeguarded people from abuse.
The provider promoted safety through good hygiene practices and the service was regularly cleaned. The provider’s approach to visiting did not meet government guidance when we carried out our first site visit because they were restricting visitors. The registered manager took swift action to address this.
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 usually supported this practice.
There was a lack of consistency in how well the service was managed. Care was not always person centred. Systems to assess and monitor the service were not always effective and did not drive the required improvements. Care recording was inconsistent and did not always provide important information about how people’s needs were being met.
Feedback about the management team and staff was generally positive.
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 requires improvement (published 10 August 2022). The service remains rated requires improvement. This service was rated requires improvement at the last inspection and the inspection in October 2019. This service was rated inadequate at the inspection in October 2021.
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staffing arrangements, and management of risk and medicines. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
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 have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Flowers Care Home Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement
We have identified breaches in relation to risk management, medicines management and good governance at this inspection.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.