The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found sufficient improvements at The Firs Residential Care Home in Tower Road, Little Downham and has upgraded their overall rating from inadequate to good. The care home has also been removed from special measures, following an inspection in July.
The Firs Residential Care Home, run by Barrels UK Care Ltd, is a residential care home providing personal care for older and younger adults, people living with dementia, and those with physical disabilities.
This inspection was carried out to follow up on improvements CQC told leaders to make at a previous inspection. CQC found the home had made sufficient improvements in all aspects of the service and they are no longer in breach of regulations.
The service’s overall rating has now been raised from inadequate to good, as well as for being safe, effective and well-led. The ratings for caring and responsive have improved from requires improvement to good.
Stuart Dunn, CQC deputy director of operations in the east of England, said:
“When we inspected The Firs Residential Care Home, it was encouraging to see improvements were made in response to concerns we raised at our last inspection, including staffing, managing general risks and safeguarding, as well as a lack of person-centred care. The service is now rated as good, and we have removed it from special measures as a result.
“The home has made significant progress in managing risks and safeguarding people. Staff now understand the importance of learning from incidents and taking action to reduce risks. For example, after one person’s fall, staff discussed lessons learned and implemented changes, including installing sensor mats to prevent future falls.
“Staff treated people with dignity and respect. We observed staff knocking on doors before entering and addressing people by their preferred name. Staff interacted with people compassionately, taking time to ensure people feel safe and understood. For example, staff were seen interacting with a resident about their doll, which showed care and attention to individual emotional needs.
“Staff also promoted people's independence, they encouraged people to do as much as they could for themselves. One person told us they were encouraged to brush their own hair, while others were supported to make day-to-day decisions about their care, such as choosing what to eat and drink. This helped people maintain their life skills where possible.
“We also saw the home now had enough, skilled and knowledgeable staff, with the right background checks at recruitment, to keep people safe.
“Everyone at The Firs Residential Care Home should be proud of the improvements they’ve made. We’ve shared our findings with them so that they can continue to build on the improvements we saw, and we will continue to monitor the service to make sure these changes are sustained long term.”
Inspectors also found:
- Staff now received more comprehensive training, including safeguarding and mental capacity training.
- Medicines were managed safely, with clear protocols and proper record-keeping.
- People were just supported in accessing external health professionals, the home makes referrals to health professionals such as GPs, district nurses, and dietitians and accompanied people to appointments where necessary.
However:
- Three window restrictors were found to be unsafe during our first site visit, it was then replaced by the second site visit with an appropriate device after we had raised it to the registered manager.
- The cleanliness of the home had improved since the last inspection. Housekeeping staff were observed more frequently, and relatives confirmed that the home was now cleaner. However, we found some damaged surfaces that needed improvement to promote good infection control.
The report will be published on CQC’s website in the next few days.
Falls from windows often result in serious or fatal injuries but are preventable. Providers must assess risks and, where the risk of someone falling from a high window is identified, must take adequate precautions, such as fitting window restrictors. All providers are encouraged to remind themselves about window safety via CQC's website.