Church Farm Nursing Home at Skylarks

Church Farm Nursing Home at Skylarks has four separate households where people live. Each household has its own communal areas (with lounges and kitchenettes). Each bedroom has ensuite facilities, and most bedrooms have direct access to enclosed garden or patio areas. The service specialises in providing personal and nursing care to people with dementia.

The service had enough staff, including for one-to-one support for people where this was assessed as needed. People, relatives and the staff team told us that staffing levels were good. We observed people receiving care at times they chose and in an unhurried way. The provider undertook pre-employment checks, to help ensure prospective staff were suitable to care for people. The service managed incidents affecting people's safety well. The service had systems and processes to monitor and assess accidents and incidents. Accidents and incidents were documented and analysed regularly to assess trends and patterns. This had helped the service to reduce incidents and make improvements to the care provided to people who used the service.

The service was well-led, and focussed on providing person-centred care for people living with dementia. The provider, manager and senior management team undertook regular audits of all aspects of the service to review the quality of care. These were effective in identifying areas where improvements were needed. The service had a positive, caring culture. People's needs and wishes came first, and staff both told us this and demonstrated it in the way they supported people. Feedback from health and social care professionals supported this.

There was a strong emphasis on continuous improvement and development of the service. Staff and the management team were confident to recognise when they needed to refer people to external health and social care professionals. This meant people got the right support in a timely manner when needed. The management team worked with other organisations and professionals to ensure people's care and support

was in line with best practice guidance.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.