The Firs Care Home

“At our last assessment we found staff had propped fire doors open with various objects such as foot stools and wheelchairs. This meant in the event of a fire the doors would not automatically close. At this assessment we found the required improvement had been made. We observed where fire doors were being held open this was using safe fitted door guards. This meant should the fire alarms sound, doors would automatically close which would help to keep people safe.”

“At our last assessment we found windows were not always being used safely. Window restrictors had been removed which meant windows were open wide enough for people to get in or out of the building. At this assessment we saw the required improvement had been made and windows were attached to their restrictors which meant they could not be fully opened wide. This meant risks of people climbing out of the window or intruders coming in through the window were mitigated.”

“The home manager told us they had effective systems to replace batteries in the fitted door guards and management were carrying out unannounced out of hours visits. Staff also showed us they were completing regular checks of the fire doors throughout the day to monitor safety.”

“Whilst we have seen the required improvement for the safe environments quality statement, at our last assessment we found shortfalls in other quality statements for the key question safe. For example, we reported on shortfalls in safeguarding and staffing. The safe key question remains rated requires improvement and we will assess all of the other quality statements at our next assessment.”