Archived: Farthings Residential Care Home

Updated 8 March 2018

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 30 January 2018 and was unannounced. It was completed by one inspector. On this occasion we had not asked the provider to send us a Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We used a range of different methods to help us understand people’s experiences. People who lived at the home had varying levels of communication. We spoke with six people and also observed the interaction between people and the staff who supported them in communal areas throughout the inspection visit. We also spoke with one person’s relative to gain their feedback.

We spoke with the registered manager, one senior care staff, one care staff and the cook. We reviewed care plans for seven people to check that they were accurate and up to date. We also looked at the systems the provider had in place to ensure the quality of the service was continuously monitored and reviewed to drive improvement. We reviewed audits and quality checks for medicines management, accidents and incidents, meeting minutes and health and safety checks.

Updated 8 March 2018

Farthings is a residential care home for 18 older people some of whom are living with dementia. It is situated in a village location.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People continued to receive safe care. There were enough staff to support them and they were recruited to ensure that they were safe to work with people. People were protected from the risk of harm and received their prescribed medicines safely. Lessons were learnt from when mistakes happened.

The care that people received continued to be effective. They were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff received training and support to be able to care for people well. They ensured that people were supported to maintain good health and nutrition; including in partnership with other organisations when needed. The environment met people’s needs.

People continued to have positive relationships with the staff who were caring and treated people with respect and kindness. There were opportunities for them to get involved in activities and pursue their interests. Staff knew them well and understood how to care for them in a personalised way. There were plans in place which detailed people’s likes and dislikes and these were regularly reviewed. People knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint and the provider had implemented effective systems to manage any complaints that they received.

People and their relatives were included in developing the service and found the registered manager approachable. There were quality systems in place which were effective in continually developing the quality of the care that was provided to them.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.