Fonthill House

Updated 18 March 2021

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 22 February 2021 and was unannounced.

Updated 18 March 2021

About the service:

Fonthill House is a purpose built nursing and residential care home, that specialises in end of life care. The nursing home accommodates up to 64 people in one adapted building. At the time of the inspection 64 people were receiving care and support.

Peoples experience of using this service:

Fonthill care home has been recognised as a leader in end of life care, they achieved “Beacon” status which demonstrated innovation and outstanding end of life care and support. We looked at thank you letters regarding the end of life support and without exception these told a story of outstanding kindness and care that remained with and left a positive feeling for the families going forward. The staff provided great care during and after with families receiving support during these difficult times.

People received care and support at a time they wanted. The providers ethos was person centred care that was personalised and in line with people’s needs and preferences. At a time, people wanted, where they wanted. People were not gathered together in one room to be managed in one space, they were encouraged and supported to live as they wished.

There were no set times for care, people chose when to get up, eat, wash and dress. There were many options available for entertainment. People could choose where to eat and could change their mind any time, nothing was too much trouble. There were no rigid meal times, people could request food throughout the day, when they wanted.

People and relatives told us the environment was lovely, clean and homely. People had developed great relationships with the staff. For example, a member of the hospitality staff arranged a shopping trip with one person who ‘just wanted to go shopping’. The person uses a wheelchair with a palliative diagnosis and complex health needs this did not deter the hospitality staff member. They talked to the nursing team about how best to facilitate the persons wishes.

People's concerns were dealt with and acted on quickly and to the person’s satisfaction. We saw lots of thank you letters and cards. People felt listened to and their opinions and ideas were valued.

Peoples interests, dietary requirements and independence were promoted and supported daily.

Skilled staff were provided with the necessary training and support. Staff received regular supervision and felt valued and supported by the provider. Staff loved working here, they all told us they would gladly have their loved ones cared for at Fonthill House. One staff member said, “I would gladly come here myself this is a wonderful place to be.”

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff were caring and were passionate about providing great care. People told us staff were kind, caring and promoted their dignity and independence. Staff knew people well and they promoted people’s cultural needs. One person told us, "This place is fantastic and it's all because great staff."

Governance and oversight of the quality of the service was highly effective in driving improvements this included regular clinical meetings with the highly skilled multidisciplinary team (MDT) to support people with providing good outcomes. For example, due to appropriate specialist equipment, one person’s independence was promoted. The person told us their outlook on life had dramatically improved and they were enjoying their life. The team met weekly to discuss people’s needs to ensure people’s changing needs were being met.

Risks to people were identified and managed well. Appropriate steps had been taken to safeguard people. The provider ensured good staffing levels with the required skills had been recruited to safely and deployed to keep people safe. Lessons were learned when things did not go quite so well. Infection control systems promoted good hygiene standards.

The last rating for this service was outstanding in responsive and well-led (report published 22 June 2016). Since this rating was awarded the provider has altered its legal entity. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection. At this inspection the service had improved to outstanding in caring and effective and maintained outstanding in responsive and well-led

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.