What the CQC found at The Ferns

People appeared relaxed and comfortable. Inspectors saw friendly interactions and relatives said they had confidence in the support.

“It was clear that people felt relaxed and comfortable at the home and the use of appropriate humour helped create a friendly atmosphere.” from the report

Some people gained confidence, tried new activities and worked towards personal goals. The report describes progress towards more independent community living.

“People had grown in confidence and tried new things since spending time at The Ferns.” from the report

Staff used communication methods suited to each person, including signs, symbols and pictures. People were supported to understand information and make choices.

“People were communicated with and supported to express their views and helped to make decisions in a way that best enabled them to understand and express themselves.” from the report

Staff had regular supervision, training, team meetings and appraisals. New staff completed a structured induction.

“Staff received support with daily briefings, supervision meetings, regular training, team meetings and annual appraisals.” from the report

Staff knew people's current needs, but care plans did not always reflect changes or show the skills people were currently working on.

“The care planning process was lagging far behind changes in people's support and therefore was not always able to provide current guidance for staff.” from the report

Some people, including people living at the home, were checked every 30 minutes overnight without an identified risk requiring this. Inspectors said this could intrude on reasonable privacy.

“This is a service based rather than person centred approach, which risked invading people's reasonably expected privacy.” from the report

The home was being used for permanent living, short breaks and day-service visits. Inspectors found that the constant change of people and busy periods affected the homely experience.

“Whilst there was a nice atmosphere in the building it did not feel like people's home and at peak times it was very busy with lots of distractions.” from the report

Incident records did not always record what a person might have been trying to communicate. This could reduce learning about people's needs and how support should change.

“When an incident occurred at the home staff had not always reflected on or recorded what the person may be trying to communicate.” from the report

Two records showed that a medicine had not been given, but did not explain why. Inspectors recommended reviewing the codes used on medicines records.

“On two occasions in the sample of records we checked a medication had not been administered, and appropriate records had not been kept to provide information as to why it had not been administered.” from the report