CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at The Barn
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors were assured that infection prevention and control measures were being followed. They were assured about visitors, admissions, protective equipment, testing, hygiene and outbreak management.
- Effective?
- Good
- This targeted inspection did not assess whether care was effective.
- Caring?
- Good
- This targeted inspection did not assess whether care was caring.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This targeted inspection did not assess whether care was responsive to people's needs.
- Well-led?
- Good
- This targeted inspection did not assess whether the home was well-led.
What inspectors found, September 2020
Inspected but not rated; inspectors were assured that infection control measures were in place during the pandemic.
Inspectors visited the home on 25 August 2020. The visit was announced and focused only on infection prevention and control during the coronavirus pandemic.
They found good practice in sharing protective equipment with other care homes, explaining safety guidance to residents, supporting hand hygiene and social distancing, and helping people keep in touch with their families.
Inspectors were assured about visitor safety, shielding, admissions, protective equipment, testing, cleaning, outbreak management and the infection control policy. The home was inspected but not rated, so this report does not give an overall quality rating.
Protective equipment
The provider worked with other care homes to share supplies of protective equipment. Inspectors said this helped maintain a safe community.
“The provider had established good links with other care homes in the area to share stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE).” from the report
Clear safety guidance
People were given safety information in formats they could understand. The home supported hand hygiene and social distancing.
“The provider gave people who lived in the home guidance in formats that they could understand about maintaining their safety during the pandemic.” from the report
Family contact
The home helped people maintain important relationships through technology and followed local guidance for bringing visiting back safely.
“The provider had supported people to maintain relationships that were important to them.” from the report
Infection control
Inspectors were assured that the home had arrangements covering visitors, admissions, testing, protective equipment, hygiene and possible outbreaks.
“We were assured the service were following safe infection prevention and control procedures to keep people safe.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are you currently preventing visitors from catching and spreading infections?
- 02How do you now support safe visits while meeting each resident's needs?
- 03How often are residents and staff tested, and what happens if someone tests positive?
- 04How do you manage a possible infection outbreak in the home?
- 05When was the infection prevention and control policy last reviewed?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control during the coronavirus pandemic; it did not rate the wider quality of care. This explanation was written from the published report of 23 September 2020 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, December 2018
The Barn was rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with improvements since the previous inspection.
The inspection was unannounced on 11 October 2018. Two inspectors spoke with five people living at the home and six staff members. They also checked care files, staff records, rotas, training, medicines, audits and other management records.
Inspectors rated the home Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. They found people felt safe, staff were trained, medicines were managed safely, and care plans reflected people's individual needs.
People were treated with kindness, dignity and respect. They were involved in decisions, supported to be independent, and offered activities at home and in the community. The home had systems for complaints, staff feedback and quality checks.
At the previous inspection in February 2017, the home was rated Requires Improvement overall. Inspectors had found breaches relating to safe care and treatment and consent. At this inspection, they found the required improvements had been made.
Safe medicines
Inspectors found medicines were stored securely, given safely and supported by complete records and regular audits.
“Medication administration records had been completed in full and had good information about the type of medicine prescribed and stock levels.” from the report
Personalised support
Care files included detailed information about communication, likes, dislikes, health needs and individual wishes.
“Care plans included information about people's communication, personal care, diet and healthy eating, recreation, occupation and leisure, and daily living skills.” from the report
Activities and community life
People had access to a broad programme of activities and were supported to take part in community events.
“It was clear a wide variety of activities were available to people and people who used the service were out and about in the community on most days.” from the report
Management oversight
The home used meetings, feedback, audits and development plans to monitor the service and act on learning.
“The was a detailed and comprehensive audit programme in place that demonstrated the home was monitored, managed and safe for people to live in.” from the report
Incident records
minorFurther training was planned to improve the quality and detail of records about incidents and accidents. Inspectors did not rate this as a breach at this inspection.
“The registered manager told us they had planned training for the staff team that would improve the quality of the recording of incidents and accidents in the home.” from the report
- 01What further training has staff received on recording incidents and accidents, and how do managers check that records are now complete?
- 02How will you assess whether the home remains suitable for someone who needs to use the upstairs bedrooms?
- 03How are my relative's capacity assessments, best-interest decisions and any DoLS applications kept up to date?
- 04Which activities and community opportunities would be available to my relative, and how would their preferences be recorded?
- 05How would you involve my relative and our family in reviewing their care plan and health needs?
This was an unannounced inspection covering all five CQC questions and the overall rating, including care, records, staffing, medicines, the environment and management systems. This explanation was written from the published report of 1 December 2018 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 The Barn
3 rated inspections over 4 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- September 2020Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- December 2018Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- May 2017Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- May 2015Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- October 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 28 January 2011.
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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85 live-in carers within about an hour of Lancashire
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 £1,260 a week. 78 can care for a couple. 11 years' experience on average.
“She understands the needs of an elderly person in the early stages of dementia and has treated my mother with great kindness and skill.”
“Thanks to Tracy, Dad was always immaculately dressed and clean, his meals were all home cooked and nutritionally well balanced and his home was always kept really clean and tidy.”
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.