30 October 2019
During a routine inspection
Elm Farm Residential Home is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 12 older adults. There were 11 people living in the home at the time of our inspection visit.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
Environmental risks were not always identified and mitigated which placed people at risk of harm. The provider’s quality assurance systems required improvement to ensure the checks undertaken were always effective to keep people safe. Action was taken to improve risk management following our inspection visit.
We had not been informed, as required, when important changes to the provider partnership had occurred in 2017. Following our visit, the provider was taking action prompted by CQC to address this which has caused the publication of this report to be delayed.
The management of people’s medicines was not consistently safe. Prompt action was taken to address the issues we identified. People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice. Action was taken to address this by the deputy manager.
Staff were recruited safely, and staff were available to meet people’s needs in a timely way. People felt safe and had confidence in the ability of the staff team to deliver their care effectively.
Staff enjoyed their jobs and spoke fondly about the people they cared for. Most people’s care records were written in a personalised way and provided staff with the information they needed about people's likes, dislikes and preferences. Staff understood how people preferred to communicate and the information provided to people was being reviewed by the deputy manager to ensure people could understand it.
People's right to privacy was respected and people received dignified care from staff who understood the importance of promoting their independence.
People enjoyed the range of social activities provided to occupy their time. People had enough to eat and drink and had access to health professionals when needed. People were supported to practice their religion and people's end of life wishes were documented if they had chosen to share this information.
People had opportunities to feedback their views on the service they received. Recent feedback showed people knew how to complain and they were happy with how their home was run. The environment was clean and infection prevention and control measures were effective.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Following our inspection, we notified the local authority commissioners about the areas of concern we
identified.
We reported that the registered provider was in breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated
Activities) Regulations 2014. These were:
Regulation 12 Regulated Activities Regulations 2014 - Safe care and treatment
Regulation 17 Regulated Activities Regulations 2014 - Good governance
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 22 June 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will request an action plan for 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 return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.