Forest Place Nursing Home

Updated 22 June 2023

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 3 inspectors and 2 Experts 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.

Service and service type

Forest Place Nursing Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. [Care home name] is a care home [with/without] nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 9 May 2023 and ended on 11 May 2023. We visited the service on 9 May 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the Local Authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return [PIR]. This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

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. We spoke with 8 people who used the service and 14 people’s relatives about their experience of the care and support provided. We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager, clinical lead, 1 team leader, 6 members of care staff [including nursing staff] and 2 activity facilitators.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 12 people’s care plans and 3 staff personnel files to review the provider’s recruitment practices, including induction arrangements. We reviewed 10 people’s medicine records. We also looked at the provider’s staff training records and supervision arrangements. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, quality assurance information and policies and procedures were viewed.

Updated 22 June 2023

About the service

Forest Place Nursing Home provides accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care to up to 90 people in one adapted building. The service provides support to older people, and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 63 people using the service across 3 units, [Meadway, Stradbroke and Amberley] each of which has separate adapted facilities.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Suitable arrangements were in place to keep people safe. Procedures were followed by staff to safeguard people and staff understood these processes. Risks to people were identified and managed to prevent people from receiving unsafe care and support. Medicine arrangements ensured people received their prescribed medication and staff’s practice was safe.

Staffing levels met people’s care and support needs. Recruitment procedures were followed to ensure the right staff were employed to care for vulnerable individuals. People were protected by the providers arrangements for the prevention and control of infection. Arrangements were in place for learning and making improvements.

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.

People received a good level of care and support that met their needs and preferences. Staff had a good knowledge and understanding of people's specific care and support needs and how they wished to be cared for and supported. People were supported and had their social care needs met. Suitable arrangements were in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service provided. People, relatives, and staff were positive regarding the management of the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement [published January 2023]. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced focused inspection of this service on 22 November 2022, 25 November 2022, and 7 December 2022. Breaches of legal requirements were found relating to Regulation 9 [Person centred care] and Regulation 17 [Good governance].

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Forest Place Nursing Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.