CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Fonthill House
Rated Outstanding: inspectors found the home performing exceptionally well.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors were assured that infection prevention and control was safe. They found arrangements for PPE, testing, visitor screening, social distancing, cleaning and managing outbreaks.
- Effective?
- Outstanding
- Does the care work? Training, consent, food and drink, working with GPs and nurses.
- Caring?
- Outstanding
- Are people treated with kindness and dignity?
- Responsive?
- Outstanding
- Is care built around the person? Care plans, activities, complaints.
- Well-led?
- Outstanding
- Is the home run well? The manager, the culture, how problems get found and fixed.
What inspectors found, March 2021
Inspected but not rated; inspectors were assured that infection prevention and control arrangements at Fonthill House were safe.
This was an unannounced, targeted inspection on 22 February 2021. It looked specifically at infection prevention and control because the home had experienced a COVID-19 outbreak.
Inspectors were assured that the home was managing infection risks. This included visitor screening, PPE, social distancing, testing, cleaning, safe admissions and plans for managing outbreaks.
Visits had been temporarily suspended during the outbreak, but this was lifted shortly after the inspection. Plans were in place for appointment-only garden visits, with rapid testing, PPE and cleaning between visits.
The home was inspected but not rated. This means the inspection did not give an overall quality rating or a rated judgement across all five areas of care.
Visitor infection checks
Visitors were screened on arrival and given guidance and PPE. Staff also checked their temperatures.
“Visitors were received into the reception area on arrival where they were provided with guidance, personal protective equipment (PPE) and a health screening was completed.” from the report
PPE arrangements
PPE stations and supplies were available throughout the home. Staff had training and extra support to use the enhanced PPE safely.
“PPE donning and doffing stations were available throughout the service, with PPE supplies available outside each person's bedroom.” from the report
Ongoing checks
The home used regular COVID-19 testing and had management checks and infection control audits in place.
“Management oversight and daily checks, alongside regular infection prevention and control audits were in place.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01What are the current visiting arrangements, and are visits still by appointment only?
- 02How are visitors currently tested, screened and provided with PPE?
- 03What changes were made after the COVID-19 outbreak, and how are these changes being monitored?
- 04How often are people living at the home and staff tested for infections?
- 05How is staff training in putting on and removing PPE kept up to date?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control practices only; the service was inspected but not rated and the other areas of care were not assessed in this report. This explanation was written from the published report of 18 March 2021 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, January 2021
Fonthill House was inspected but not rated; inspectors were assured about infection prevention and control.
This was an unannounced, targeted inspection on 09 December 2020. It checked infection prevention and control because of coronavirus outbreaks in care homes.
Inspectors found good practice in how the home managed visits, activities, communication with families, personal protective equipment, cleaning and staff support.
They were assured that the home was preventing infections, using protective equipment safely, supporting testing, managing admissions and keeping its infection control policy up to date. The home was inspected but not rated, so this report does not provide a full quality rating.
Safer family visits
The home arranged booked window visits, provided guidance and PPE, and supported communication between visitors and residents.
“Visits were by appointment only, with times allocated to avoid potential infection transmission with other visitors” from the report
Keeping people connected
The home offered activities, newsletters, telephone access in bedrooms, online communication and video calls to help reduce the impact of the pandemic.
“The service had taken steps to alleviate the negative impact of the pandemic on people.” from the report
Clean environment
Inspectors found the home clean and hygienic, with extra cleaning work and organised waste management.
“The service was clean and hygienic. Additional cleaning tasks and schedules had been implemented by housekeeping staff” from the report
Infection control
Inspectors were assured that PPE, social distancing, testing, admissions and outbreak management were handled safely.
“We were assured that the provider was using PPE effectively and safely.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01Are window visits still available by appointment, and what arrangements are now in place for visitors?
- 02How can relatives contact and speak with residents if visiting is restricted?
- 03How often are residents and staff tested, and what happens if there is an infection outbreak?
- 04How are new residents admitted safely and protected from infection?
- 05What is the home's current full inspection rating for areas not covered by this targeted inspection?
This was an unannounced targeted inspection of infection prevention and control practices only; the home was inspected but not rated. This explanation was written from the published report of 5 January 2021 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 Fonthill House
Each visit the CQC has published, newest first, back to the day the home was registered.
- March 2021Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- January 2021Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- August 2019OutstandingSafe: GoodEffective: OutstandingCaring: OutstandingResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Outstanding
- November 2017
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 20 November 2017.
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.
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