Ferndale Court Nursing Home

On this page

• Overview
• Learning culture
• Safe systems, pathways and transitions
• Safeguarding
• Involving people to manage risks
• Safe environments
• Safe and effective staffing
• Infection prevention and control
• Medicines optimisation

Safe – this means we looked for evidence people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated good.

This service scored 62 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service did not always have a proactive and positive culture. People, staff and their relatives were not always given the opportunity to provide feedback. Staff told us they did not always feel listened too, one staff member said, “I wish management listened to our concerns and gave as an extra staff member.” There was a whistleblowing and safeguarding policy in place, however, staff were not all aware of what this was. Relatives and people told us they could raise a concern if they needed too, one relative told us, “I have not had to raise a concern, however, I have been given a number and email address if need to.”

The service worked with people and healthcare partners to ensure people were supported safely and necessary referrals were made when required. Hospital passports were in place to ensure when people had to go to hospital correct information went with them. There was evidence of assessments taking place prior to people moving into the service. Relatives whose loved one were residing in the home and were unable to make decisions for themselves were consulted prior to people being admitted into the home. One relative told us, “We got all the information we needed they communicate quite well.”

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way to achieve it. The provider shared concerns quickly and appropriately. People and relatives felt safe living in the home. One relative told us, “Oh [person] is safe there.” Another relative said, “as far as the home is concerned, we are all good, they [staff] take good care of [person].” Where a person required a deprivation of liberty safeguard (DoLS) this was in place, however, the care plans did not always reflect this. We were informed the service has sought input from the DoLS team to ensure all DoLS are reviewed and clearly documented. Following any accident or incidents, analysis was completed to identify if there were any themes and trends to mitigate risk and any lessons learnt were shared. Safeguarding policies were available in accessible formats with the contact details of the relevant Local Authority to reports any concerns.

Staff did not always provide safe and supportive care to meet people’s needs, to enable people to do the things which mattered to them. Due to the service recently being taken over, not all risk were clearly documented as they were reliant on information from the old provider, however, those care plans and risk assessments which had been reviewed and completed were updated and reflective of people's needs.

We observed lots of people eating their meals in their bedrooms which resulted in the staff providing support to people in their bedrooms and the dining room which meant lunchtime experience was very busy with people being left without the support they required in a timely manner. This was discussed with the management team and an action plan was devised to ensure more staff were available at mealtimes and people were encouraged to socialise in the dining room to promote independence and prevent isolation. The service detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care.

The service did not always make sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff. They did not always make sure staff received effective support, supervision and development. Most staff we spoke to raised concerns regarding the staffing levels. We were told the lack of staffing meant people were not being provided with personalised care and support. Safe recruitment procedures were in place to ensure staff were recruited safely with the relevant checks in place.

The service assessed and managed the risk of infection. They detected and controlled the risk of it spreading and shared concerns with appropriate agencies promptly. The service was clean and inviting, staff were observed to be wearing PPE when required.

The service made sure medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. Medications policies were in place to ensure medicines were administered safely. Medicine administration records contained correct information including allergies. Medications were safely stored. We did identify concerns regarding a transdermal patch rotation, however, the provider responded immediately to address these concerns.