Nursing home must get better despite making improvements

Staff at a Crawley nursing home has been told it needs to improve following a surprise inspection earlier this year.
Moving to its current site in 1967, the clinic has been in existence for 120 years.Moving to its current site in 1967, the clinic has been in existence for 120 years.
Moving to its current site in 1967, the clinic has been in existence for 120 years.

Ferndale Nursing Home in Malthouse Road, Southgate, was given a rating of ‘requires improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in a report published last week.

The report, relased on Tuesday, September 20, said that, while conditions had improved since previous visits in March 2015, there were still safety and effectiveness changes to be made.

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Visiting the home on Tuesday, August 2, inspectors found there was sometimes a lack of instructions on when to give patients ‘as required’ medicines, such as pain medication. This left a risk that patients could receive medicines when they should not, the report said.

The centre scored ‘good’ ratings in three of the subcategories the CQC looks at: ‘Is the service caring?’, ‘Is the service responsive?’ and ‘Is the service well led?’.

The report stated: “People were treated with kindness and compassion. Relatives

and visitors told us the service was friendly and welcoming.”

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Inspectors found that ‘people received personalised care that was responsive to their needs’ and the home was well-managed.

However, the home was rated ‘requires improvement’ for ‘Is the service safe?’ and ‘Is the service effective?’ criteria, resulting in the overall grade.

The report said that: “staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and sought people’s consent to care and treatment appropriately.

“However, where people were assessed as lacking capacity it was not clear how or why decisions had been made on their behalf.

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“This meant that decisions made in people’s best interests were not recorded in line with legal requirements and this was identified as an area that needs improvement.”

The Crawley Observer contacted management at Ferndale Nursing Home but they declined to comment.

The report can be read in full on the CQC website.

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