What the CQC found at Field House Residential Care Home for the Elderly

People told inspectors they felt safe and knew who to speak to if they had concerns. Staff understood how to recognise and report abuse.

“People told us that they felt safe and that if they had any concerns they would talk to the staff or manager about it.” from the report

Inspectors found that recruitment checks had been completed. People and staff said there were usually enough staff to meet people's needs promptly.

“Through our observations and people living at the service told us that they thought there were sufficient staff on duty to meet their needs in a timely manner.” from the report

Medicines were given by trained staff, recorded properly and stored safely. Prescribers' instructions were available and followed.

“People received safe support with their medicines provided by trained staff.” from the report

Inspectors were assured that the home had suitable arrangements for preventing and managing infections, including safe use of protective equipment.

“We were assured that the provider was using PPE effectively and safely.” from the report

People and staff spoke positively about the new manager, teamwork and recent changes. Meetings and surveys were being used to gather views.

“All of the staff spoken to said they found the manager approachable and spoke positively about teamwork and the recent improvements.” from the report

There were no records of recent fire drills, fire point or emergency lighting tests, or fire door checks. Some people on the ground floor could not be safely evacuated by the available arrangements.

“There were no means of safely evacuating people from the ground floor who could not walk down the stairs in the event of a fire.” from the report

Audits had identified that some bedrooms did not have thermostatic valves, but the valves were not fitted promptly. The provider acted during the inspection to fit them in occupied bedrooms.

“Audits had identified that not all bedrooms had thermostatic valves fitted. However, action had not been taken in a timely manner to fit them.” from the report

Some audits were incomplete or inaccurate, and action plans were not always made. This meant important safety improvements were missed.

“Although tasks were ticked as completed this was not always accurate and meant areas for improvement were not always identified.” from the report

The home was reviewing accidents and incidents, but forms did not always clearly record the action taken. The report says records were being improved.

“Although people's records showed that appropriate action had been taken this was not always clearly recorded on the accident forms.” from the report