7 June 2016
During a routine inspection
This inspection took place on 7 June 2016 and was announced. The inspection took place as part of our
comprehensive inspection of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust's services.
We last inspected the service in November 2013 where we found the service was meeting all the regulations
we inspected.
Easter Field Court Residential Care Home is a service for people with a mental health condition. It comprises
of five bungalows situated in a cul-de-sac, within walking distance of Morpeth town centre. A total of 17
people can be accommodated in the bungalows. There were 15 people in receipt of care and support from
the service at the time of the inspection.
There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care
Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'.
Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act
2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
The service had been through a period of change. Two of the provider's residential homes had closed and
staff at these services had come to work at Easter Field Court Residential Care Home. In addition, a new
"model of care" had been introduced. The service had been a "home for life;" now it was now a transitional
service where people came for assessment and "moved on" to live independently in the local community or
to another residential service.
People told us they felt safe. There were safeguarding policies and procedures in place. Staff were
knowledgeable about what action they would take if abuse was suspected. There were no ongoing
safeguarding concerns. This was confirmed by the local authority safeguarding adults officer.
The premises were clean and well maintained. Checks were carried out to ensure the safety of the building
and equipment.
There was a safe system in place for the receipt, storage, administration and disposal of medicines. Many
people managed their own medicines.
People told us there were enough staff to meet their needs. On the day of the inspection, we saw that
people's needs were met by the number of staff on duty. There was a training programme in place. Staff
were trained in safe working practices and to meet the specific needs of people who lived at the service.
Staff told us that they were a small supportive team. All staff told us that they felt well supported by the
manager.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act
3 Easter Field Court Residential Care Home Inspection report 26 August 2016
2005 (MCA) including the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. MCA is a
law that protects and supports people who do not have ability to make their own decisions and to ensure
decisions are made in their 'best interests' it also ensures unlawful restrictions are not placed on people in
care homes and hospitals. The manager told us and our own observations confirmed that there were no
restrictions on people's liberty.
People were supported with their nutritional needs. There was an emphasis on promoting people's
independence in all areas of their life, including nutrition. We observed that people were cared for by staff
with kindness and patience. One person said, "I just love them to bits."
Care plans were in place which aimed to meet people's health, emotional, social and physical needs. They
provided staff with information about how people's care needs were to be met.
People told us that there was an emphasis on meeting their social needs. They were supported to access the
local community, go on holiday and pursue their individual hobbies and interests. There was a complaints
procedure in place and people told us they knew how to complain.
There was a system in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Audits and checks were carried
out regularly on various aspects of the service.