The Firs Care Home

This inspection was completed to check the provider had taken action to keep people safe. The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to safe care and treatment. Following the last inspection the provider sent us an action plan to tell us what actions they would take to improve and by when. At this inspection we did not find enough improvements had been completed and the provider remained in breach of this regulation. We found fire doors were still being held open by various objects such as footstools and wooden wedges. This meant the door would not close automatically in the event of a fire which placed people at risk of harm. Whilst the provider had taken action to install more effective window restrictors, we found 1 window that had been taken off the restrictor and was wide open. We reported this to the registered manager during the inspection. ​In addition, we also found a breach of regulation in relation to good governance.

Governance systems were not effective in assessing and monitoring the quality and safety at the service. We found a number of incidents which had not been notified to the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Although the provider had carried out checks at the service and identified shortfalls there was no information on actions needed to make improvements. Following our last inspection the provider submitted an action plan. We were told all actions would be completed by 6 January 2025. During this inspection we found these actions had not all been implemented.

People and staff told us there were enough staff available. However, night staff numbers had decreased prior to this inspection. Whilst we observed no harm during this inspection, it was not evident how people’s needs were being effectively supported at night when staff were completing personal care. There were people living at the service who required 2 members of staff at times to support mobility and personal care. When staff were supporting these people this meant there was no staff available to respond to other people’s requests for assistance at night.

The service was clean and we observed staff were using personal protective equipment safely.

Risks to people’s safety had been identified and measures were in place to monitor risks. The care manager told us they were reviewing all risk management plans to make sure they were up to date and accurate. Medicines were being managed safely and people had their medicines as prescribed. The local GP visited the home every week and reviewed people’s needs.

In instances where CQC have decided to take civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this information on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded.