The Firs Residential Care Home

Our unannounced assessment was carried out following concerns we received about fire safety, medicines management, staffing suitability, safe care and culture. The fire safety concerns were reviewed by the local fire officer and by the end of our assessment the provider was compliant with requirements. Overall, we found people experienced safe, compassionate and personalised care. We did not identify any concerns surrounding medicines management, staffing suitability, safe care or culture. This was a comprehensive assessment, and we reviewed all the quality statements. The care home was previously rated good, and this assessment has found the care home remained good.

This assessment was undertaken by 3 inspectors, 1 medicines specialist and 1 Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who had personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. We received feedback from 3 healthcare professionals who work with the service, the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

The provider demonstrated a proactive approach to safety, based on openness and honesty. This included undertaking thorough pre-admission assessments to ensure staff could meet people’s needs. Leaders and staff had a shared vision with a focus on learning and continual improvement. People, relatives, staff and visiting health and social care professionals told us they felt supported to provide feedback and felt their views would be listened to and acted upon. Medicines were managed safely at the care home and staff worked well alongside a range of health and social care professionals to ensure safe continuity of care.