Archived: Fieldside Care Limited t/a Fieldside Care Home

Updated 11 October 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. 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

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Fieldside Care Home 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.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This first day of the inspection on 15 August 2022 was unannounced. The provider knew we would be returning for the second day of the inspection on 19 August 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at information we held about the service. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as allegations of abuse and serious accidents and incidents. We used 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 also used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 13 July 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We also reviewed all other information sent to us from other stakeholders, for example the local authority and members of the public.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who were receiving care and made general observations of people's support and interactions with care workers to help us understand their experience. We spoke with the admin assistant, the maintenance manager, three care workers, the registered manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed five people’s care and medicine records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and supervision. We also looked at policies and procedures and records related to the management of the service and infection control. We received feedback from five relatives of people who used the service. We also sought feedback from professionals with knowledge of the service.

Updated 11 October 2022

About the service:

Fieldside Care Home provides care and accommodation for up to 34 older people, some living with dementia in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were 31 people receiving care and support.

People’s experience of using this service

People were not always safe. The provider had not ensured risks to people associated with infection control and environmental hazards were identified and mitigated. We discussed our concerns with the environment and infection control with the registered manager and nominated individual during the inspection and they have taken action to resolve some of the immediate issues we identified.

Despite the issues with safety we found people and their relatives were very positive about the care and support they received. Comments included, “I honestly cannot speak highly enough of the registered manager and the team, they are very kind and caring” and “The [registered] manager and staff are extremely good at what they do I am just glad we found somewhere like Fieldside.”

The provider had made improvements to the quality of care plans and risk assessments. Medicines continued to be managed safely.

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 also positive about the support they received from the provider. Managers and staff worked in partnership with a range of health and social care professionals to plan and deliver care and support.

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

At the last inspection, the service was rated as Requires Improvement (Report published 20 April 2021) and there were breaches of regulations. 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 the provider remained in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last comprehensive inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained ‘Requires Improvement’ based on the findings of this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make further improvements. Please see the Safe and Well-led sections of this full report. The provider had taken some action during the inspection to mitigate risks and continued to liaise with the inspector after the inspection to advise of further improvements scheduled.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Fieldside Care Limited t/a Fieldside Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement:

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection.

We have identified continued breaches in relation to safety and good governance processes at this inspection.

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up:

We will request an action plan from 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. If we receive any concerning information we may return to inspect.