Arcare for Forte Limited

Updated 12 February 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The inspection was triggered by concerns we had received about the safety of people living at the service. During the inspection we did not find any evidence that people were at risk of harm.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This was an un-announced focused inspection carried out by two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. One inspector visited the service on 18 January 2022 and the second inspector made telephone calls to staff members. The Expert by Experience made calls to people’s relatives.

Service and service type

Arcare for Forte is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 18 January 2022 and ended on 24 January 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection, this included the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

We reviewed other information that we held about the service, such as notifications, which are events which happened in the service that the provider is required to tell us about. We sought feedback from the Local Authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with seven relatives and nine members of staff including the area manager, registered manager, deputy manager, team leaders and day and night support workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included the people’s care records, risk assessment and medication records. We looked at three staff files to check safe recruitment practice was followed. We also reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and quality audits.

After the inspection

We continued to review records which included training, audits and risk assessments. We also received feedback from two external health care professionals.

Updated 12 February 2022

About the service

Arcare for Forte is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided and both were looked at during this inspection. Arcare for Forte is a care home without nursing, which can accommodate up to nine people. At the time of our inspection eight people were using the service and these included older people, people with learning disabilities or those on the autistic spectrum.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were kept safe by staff who knew how to report concerns, manage risks and identify concerns, for people they were supporting. Staff knew how to raise safeguarding concerns. There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs. Medicines were managed in a safe way.

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. Staff had received training to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to support people safely. Staff received regular supervision to support them in their role. People’s dietary needs were met, and they had access to healthcare services where needed.

People received personalised care and support to meet their needs and wishes. People using the service, relatives and staff were given the opportunity to provide feedback on the service. Audits took place to ensure the quality of the service was maintained.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and 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. Based on our review of safe and well-led, the service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

People received personalised care and support to meet their needs and wishes. People using the service, relatives and staff were given the opportunity to provide feedback on the service. Audits took place to ensure the quality of the service was maintained.

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 good (published 22 January 2019). At this inspection we found the rating remained good.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the safety and monitoring of people using the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating of good for the service has remained the same based on the findings of this inspection.

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. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Arcare For Forte Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.