Barnfield House

Updated 7 September 2023

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.

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 completed by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Barnfield House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Barnfield House is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection, there was no registered manager in post, but the manager was applying for registration.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people and 5 staff, including the manager and deputy manager. We reviewed 2 people’s care plans, risk assessments and medicines records. We also reviewed a range of records related to the running of the service such as audits, action plans and meeting minutes. We spoke to 1 relative by phone and received email feedback from 2 professionals.

Updated 7 September 2023

About the service

Barnfield House is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 18 people. The service provides support to people with mental health needs. At the time of our inspection there were 14 people using the service.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

The service was registered to provide care and support to people with a learning disability, however at the time of the inspection, the location did not provide care or support for anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person and intended to remove this service user band from their registration. We will monitor the service to ensure this is completed.

People were safe living at the service and staff understood how to protect them from abuse. Staff were confident raising concerns about people’s health or welfare and reporting accidents and incidents. Where necessary, people were referred to external professionals.

Risks to people and related to the physical environment had been assessed and guidance put in place to mitigate the risks.

Staff had been recruited safely and there were enough staff to ensure people received the required support. Staff undertook training regularly to help ensure they stayed up to date with best practices.

Medicines were managed, stored and administered safely. We have made a recommendation about guidance on when to administer people’s ‘as required’, (PRN) medicines.

Appropriate infection prevention and control practices were in place.

There was little information to show that staff were tailoring opportunities to some people’s interests and preferences. We have made a recommendation about this.

Staff knew people well and regularly checked they were happy with the service.

People were unable to go into the kitchen. This meant they could not prepare or cook food. The manager told us they would investigate installing a kitchenette people could use. We have made a recommendation about this.

People told us they liked the food and could make choices about what, when and where they ate and drank.

The service was working within the principles of the MCA. 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.

Some people did not do much during the day but there was little evidence to show this was their choice. People were not always encouraged to increase or maintain their skills and independence. We have made recommendations about this.

The manager and provider knew the service well and had a clear plan to improve the service and upgrade the environment.

People and staff were positive about the service. Staff told us there was a positive atmosphere in the service.

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 good (published 3 November 2017).

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

Why we inspected

We inspected to provide an up-to-date rating of the service.

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.

Recommendations

We have made recommendations in relation to ‘as required’ (PRN) medicines, how staff encourage and support people’s skills and independence, the opportunities offered to people, how people are enabled to take part in cooking and food preparation and the refurbishment of the service.

Follow up

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