An East Cambridgeshire care home for older and younger adults living with dementia has rated good after "significant progress".

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said The Firs Residential Care Home's overall rating had been upgraded from inadequate to good following an inspection in July. 

It was also removed from special measures. 

Inspectors visited the home on Towers Lane in Little Downham to follow-up on improvements the CQC told leaders to make at a previous inspection. 

The site was found to have made sufficient improvements in all aspects of the service and is no longer in breach of regulations.

The latest inspection found that in addition to staff receiving more comprehensive training, including safeguarding and mental capacity training, medicines were managed safely. 

People were also supported in accessing external health professionals, with the home making referrals to and accompanying patients to health professionals. 

However, three window restrictors were found to be unsafe, although these were replaced with an appropriate device after the CQC raised it with the manager. 

CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, Stuart Dunn, said: “When we inspected The Firs Residential Care Home, it was encouraging to see improvements were made in response to concerns we raised at our last inspection, including staffing, managing general risks and safeguarding, as well as a lack of person-centred care. The service is now rated as good, and we have removed it from special measures as a result.

“The home has made significant progress in managing risks and safeguarding people. Staff now understand the importance of learning from incidents and taking action to reduce risks. For example, after one person’s fall, staff discussed lessons learned and implemented changes, including installing sensor mats to prevent future falls.

“Staff treated people with dignity and respect. We observed staff knocking on doors before entering and addressing people by their preferred name. Staff interacted with people compassionately, taking time to ensure people feel safe and understood. For example, staff were seen interacting with a resident about their doll, which showed care and attention to individual emotional needs.

“Staff also promoted people's independence, they encouraged people to do as much as they could for themselves. One person told us they were encouraged to brush their own hair, while others were supported to make day-to-day decisions about their care, such as choosing what to eat and drink. This helped people maintain their life skills where possible.

“We also saw the home now had enough, skilled and knowledgeable staff, with the right background checks at recruitment, to keep people safe."

He added: “Everyone at The Firs Residential Care Home should be proud of the improvements they’ve made. We’ve shared our findings with them so that they can continue to build on the improvements we saw, and we will continue to monitor the service to make sure these changes are sustained long term.”

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