Enter and view: The Fountains Care Centre

Summary of report content

The home was evaluated against eight quality indicators: strong, visible management; staff with the time and skills to do their jobs; good knowledge of each individual resident and how their needs may be changing; a varied programme of activities; quality, choice and flexibility around food and mealtimes; ensuring residents can regularly see health professionals such as GPs, dentists, opticians or chiropodists; accommodating residents’ personal, cultural and lifestyle needs; and being an open environment where feedback is actively sought and used. 

Findings

Authorised representatives conducted interviews with 4 members of staff at the care home. Topics such as quality of care, safety, dignity, respecting and acknowledging the resident’s and families’ wishes and staff training were explored. Authorised representatives also approached 5 residents at the care home to ask them about their experiences of the home and, where appropriate, other topics such as accessing health care services. 2 family members were also spoken to as they were with residents at the time.

A proportion of the visit was also observational, involving the authorised representatives walking around the public/communal areas and observing the surroundings to gain an understanding of how the home works and how the residents engaged with staff members and the facilities. There was an observation checklist prepared for this purpose.

At the time of the initial visit the Fountains Care Centre had recently undergone a change in ownership. The new owners, SPV4 Ltd requested that Healthwatch’s visit was postponed to embed new policies and procedures in with staff. This was taken into consideration, but it was felt that the visit should still go ahead as the findings can be used to assist the owners with any future improvements.

Healthwatch Salford’s conversations with staff, residents and relatives highlighted issues around:

• The ranges of activities for residents to take part in and the availability of staff to support these;
• The need for more visible leadership so that everyone can identify who the manager is;
• Staff training and teambuilding;
• Environmental areas of the home that need refreshing/repairing and general upkeeping.