Forest Hill House Nursing Home

Updated 10 March 2022

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.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 22 February 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 10 March 2022

About the service

Forest Hill House Nursing Home is registered to accommodate and provide care, treatment and support for up to 36 older people. The service is split over three floors which were all accessible by stairs or a lift. There were 23 people using the service at time of inspection.

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

People told us they felt safe, supported and happy living at Forest Hill House Nursing Home. Since the last inspection improvements had been made to risk assessments and medicines management and these had improved safety. However, further development was needed to ensure they were robust. The registered manager and compliance officer worked to ensure these areas were robust during and directly following the inspection.

There was a homely, relaxed, yet vibrant atmosphere in the home. People were supported by staff who knew how to recognise and raise concerns. The systems in place meant that concerns were taken seriously and referred to the relevant agencies. The home was clean, tidy and improvements were ongoing. Staff were recruited safely, and staffing levels were kept under review. Lessons were learnt by the service and it was important to them to continually improve.

The staff demonstrated a good understanding of how to meet people’s individual needs. People’s outcomes were known, and staff worked with people to help achieve these. People were supported and encouraged to maintain their independence and live their lives as fully as possible.

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 were respectful, and consent was consistently sought. People had access to healthcare professionals to support their general health needs.

People’s needs were assessed, and staff had access to care plans which were person centred and involved the person. People’s hobbies, wishes and desires were sought, and staff worked to achieve these for the person. People felt occupied and enjoyed the social aspects of the home. People and their relatives thought staff were kind, compassionate and caring.

People were supported to maintain contact with those important to them including family and friends. Staff understood the importance of these contacts for people’s health and well-being. Staff knew people well and gave individualised care and support. The home had received praise for its quality in end of life care.

People knew how to make a complaint; the home had a complaints policy, and this was followed to people’s satisfaction. The registered manager recognised it was their duty to be open, honest and apologise when things went wrong.

The management of the service was respected. Staff had a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities and were supported to reflect on their practice and pursue learning opportunities. The staff team worked and got on well together demonstrating team work. Staff were proud to work at Forest Hill House Nursing Home and told us they were a big family.

Quality and safety checks helped ensure people were safe and protected from harm. This meant the service could continually improve. Audits were robust and helped identify areas for improvement and this learning was shared with staff. The home worked well with external professionals and agencies and continued to build links within the community.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update:

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 25 January 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.