About the service Fern Leaf Carehome (38 Bedford Road) is a care home registered to accommodate and support up to five people with mental health needs, learning disabilities and/or autism. At the time of the inspection, five people were living at the home. The home has three floors with separate adapted facilities and ensuite rooms.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, Right care, Right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.
The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Right support: People had control of how their care and support was arranged. People were supported to integrate into the local community and be as independent as possible.
Right care: Staff ensured people's dignity, privacy and human rights were respected. People received care and support that was personalised for their needs.
Right culture: The values and attitudes of staff and managers in the home enabled people to be as independent as possible and feel empowered in their daily lives.
People told us they felt safe in the home. Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse. Risks to people’s health were assessed so staff could support them safely. Medicines were administered safely to people. However, we made a recommendation for the temperature of the storage room to be monitored because the medicine cabinet could be exposed to strong sunlight which could affect the quality of medicines.
The provider recruited staff appropriately and checked they were suitable to work with people. There were enough staff working in the home to support people. Systems were in place to prevent and control infections, such as COVID-19. Lessons were learned following accidents and incidents in the home.
Staff were trained to carry out their roles and received an induction upon their employment. Staff felt supported in their roles. People were encouraged to maintain a balanced diet and their nutritional needs were monitored. They attended health appointments with professionals to help they remain in good health.
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 and staff got to know each other well. Care plans were person-centred so people could receive care that met their needs and preferences. Their future end of life wishes were discussed with them. People pursued their interests and were supported to avoid social isolation. Systems were in place to manage complaints. People’s communication needs were met. Feedback was sought from people to help make continuous improvements to the home.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
At the last inspection, the service was inspected but not rated (report published 20 October 2020) because we carried out a targeted inspection that looked at specific areas.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on a review of information we held about the service and because the service was unrated.
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.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.