CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Firlawn
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Inspectors found that risks, medicines, staffing, recruitment and infection control were managed safely.
- Effective?
- Good
- Care plans reflected people's needs and choices, and staff were trained and knowledgeable. People were supported with food, drinks, healthcare and decisions about their care.
- Caring?
- Good
- Staff treated people with kindness, dignity and respect. People were encouraged to make choices and remain as independent as possible.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care was personalised to people's preferences and communication needs. People were supported to keep relationships, follow interests, take part in activities and receive end of life care.
- Well-led?
- Requires improvement
- People, relatives and staff felt listened to, but records of meetings, supervision and improvements were not always available. The home did not have a clear, consistent system for quality checks and tracking progress.
What inspectors found, September 2023
Firlawn is rated Good overall, but inspectors found that leadership and quality checks need improvement.
Inspectors visited on 13 July, 20 July and 3 August 2023. They observed care, spoke with people, relatives and staff, and checked care, medicine, recruitment and management records.
The home supported four people with learning disabilities and autistic people. Inspectors found people were safe, treated kindly, supported to make choices and given personalised care. Staff also helped people communicate, see relatives, join activities and access healthcare.
The main weakness was how the home recorded and checked its work. Some training, supervision, meetings and improvements were not recorded clearly. Inspectors made three recommendations about oversight, but did not report any breaches of regulations.
The overall rating was Good. Safe, effective, caring and responsive were all rated Good. Well-led was rated Requires Improvement, which means management and leadership were not always consistent enough to show that improvements were being monitored properly.
Safe care and staffing
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs and saw staff managing individual risks appropriately. Recruitment checks were also completed safely.
“There were enough staff to meet people's needs.” from the report
Kind and respectful staff
Staff supported people's dignity, privacy, choices and independence. They took time to understand what people wanted and supported their individual ways of communicating.
“People were treated with kindness by caring staff.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans described people's preferences and needs in detail, and inspectors saw staff following them. People were supported with activities, community access and relationships.
“People received a good level of personalised care.” from the report
Good partnership working
Staff worked with health and social care professionals and followed their advice. Referrals and follow-up appointments were dealt with in a timely way.
“We saw evidence of staff making referrals to various healthcare services, chasing results and follow up appointments and adding and advice and guidance provided in to care plans.” from the report
Training records were scattered
needs fixingThe manager knew when staff training was due, but certificates were kept in different places. Inspectors recommended a clearer way to oversee staff training needs.
“These certificates were recorded and stored in various places in the home.” from the report
Important meetings were not recorded
needs fixingStaff and relatives' meetings were informal and had no minutes. This made it difficult to show how people's and staff's views had influenced the home.
“Staff and relatives' meetings were all informal so there was no record of these.” from the report
Quality checks lacked a clear system
needs fixingThe home carried out some checks and took action, but there was no structured system to monitor progress consistently. Inspectors recommended a clear audit trail.
“There was no structured approach to governance and quality assurance that would enable the provider to monitor progress effectively and consistently against delivery of the strategy.” from the report
- 01How are staff training certificates and renewal dates now kept in one place?
- 02How do you record staff and relatives' meetings, suggestions and the actions taken afterwards?
- 03What quality checks are carried out now, and how can families see whether actions are completed?
- 04How do you check that staff supervisions and competency checks have taken place and are recorded?
- 05What has changed since the well-led rating fell from Good to Requires Improvement?
This was a comprehensive inspection covering all five CQC questions, including infection prevention and control; the previous overall rating was Good in 2017, while well-led changed to Requires Improvement. This explanation was written from the published report of 22 September 2023 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
What inspectors found, October 2017
Firlawn was rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with previous legal and monitoring concerns addressed.
This was an unannounced inspection on 8 September 2017. One inspector reviewed care records for all three residents, medicines, staff recruitment and training, and the home's quality checks. They also observed care and spoke with staff and relatives.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough trained staff, safe medicines management, suitable care plans, access to healthcare, and activities that matched people's interests.
At the previous inspection in August 2016, the provider had breached two regulations. These concerned mental capacity assessments and quality assurance. Inspectors said both issues had been addressed by this inspection.
Safe staffing and medicines
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs, including when people attended activities or appointments. Medicines records had no gaps and staff had completed relevant checks and training.
“People's medicines were managed safely.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
Staff had positive relationships with people and supported their privacy, dignity and independence. Relatives were happy with the care.
“The staff were kind and caring and treated people with dignity and respect.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans covered people's communication, preferences, health and support needs. They were reviewed regularly so staff had up-to-date information.
“Support plans were person-centred and contained detailed information about people and the care and support they required.” from the report
Activities and community life
People took part in activities linked to their interests, including trips into the local community, hobbies and events.
“People had access to a wide range of activities, many of them based in the local community.” from the report
Improved management checks
The provider had acted on the two issues found at the previous inspection. Audits and improvement plans were being used to monitor the service.
“The registered provider had effective systems of quality monitoring and improvement.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are people's mental capacity assessments and best-interest decisions kept up to date?
- 02How are any Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards authorisations or applications reviewed when people's needs change?
- 03How do you make sure there are enough staff when several people have activities or health appointments at the same time?
- 04How are medicines audits carried out now, and have any issues been found since this inspection?
- 05How are residents and relatives involved in reviewing care plans and choosing activities?
This was an unannounced inspection of the overall quality of the service, covering all five key questions; the report also checked whether concerns from the August 2016 inspection had been addressed. This explanation was written from the published report of 21 October 2017 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Firlawn
3 rated inspections over 7 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- September 2023Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- October 2017Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- September 2016Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- January 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- October 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 30 December 2010.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
Weigh the report against the rest
Fees, photos and reviews from families
How to read CQC ratings and reports
What to check when you visit
77 live-in carers within about an hour of Surrey
These are self-employed carers on PrimeCarers, the introductory agency that runs this directory. Each has a profile with their own rates and reviews from families, and you choose who to talk to.
Most charge £980 to £1,250 a week. 66 can care for a couple. 11 years' experience on average.
“Without his support we wouldn't have been able to navigate bringing and keeping Dad at home.”
“Not only has she looked after him beautifully, she has also been great company for him with lively conversation, kindness and humour.”
Every carer has had an enhanced DBS check in the last 18 months, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview. Their skills and training are for you to check with them. Carers set their own rates, and who is free changes week to week.