Updated 6 March 2019
The inspection:
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team:
On the first day, the inspection was carried out by two inspectors and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. Their area of expertise was care of older people and dementia care. The second day of the inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type:
Farnham Common House is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
The service is required to have a registered manager. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection:
The inspection was unannounced. Inspection site visit activity started on 13 February 2019 and ended on 18 February 2019.
What we did:
• We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
• We reviewed notifications and any other information we had received since the last inspection. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.
• We contacted social care professionals, to seek their views about people’s care.
• We spoke with the registered manager and 12 staff members in a range of roles.
• We spoke with ten people who live at the home and one relative.
• We checked some of the required records. These included six people’s care plans, medicines records in three of the home’s four groups, four staff recruitment files and staff training and development files. Other records included those which related to safety of the premises, accident forms, auditing reports and complaints.
• We observed part of an activity session.
• We observed mealtimes in different parts of the home.
• We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.