'˜Future is exciting' as Rustington care home works on improving

Fairlight Nursing Home, in Worthing Road, was rated ‘good’ in three areas for being effective, caring and responsive but was given an overall rating of ‘requires improvement’ after an unannounced inspection by the Care Quality Commission in August.

The inspection came just eight weeks after Tracey-Ann Parker took over as manager.

The results showed the home had improved since a previous inspection in February, in which it was rated ‘good’ in just two areas.

Mrs Parker said this was a ‘huge boost’ and added: “To have made an improvement in just eight weeks only goes to show how well Fairlight is developing and improving.”

According to the report, the August inspection was prompted by a notification that a resident with swallowing problems had choked on food and died.

The inspection found that the service was ‘not always safe’ and that while changes had been made to mitigate the risks of people choking, further action was needed.

Mrs Parker said that, at the time of the inspection, it was too soon to show how other changes had had a positive effect.

She added: “We have all worked very hard to respond to the tragedy that occurred.

“The home has really moved on since then in lots of ways.

“We look forward to a future inspection in which we can demonstrate all our hard work.”

She said that a ‘big staff restructure’ had taken place at the home, whose residents include some people with ‘very complex needs which other homes would not necessarily accept’.

New people in roles including clinical lead, head of care and head chef had been appointed.

She described staff as ‘very motivated’ and said: “The staff here are really happy.

“They know that we are a team and that we all support each other.

“The future is looking very exciting for all those involved with Fairlight.”