Florence Court Care Home

Florence Court Care Home in Fareham provides residential and personal care for older people, including those living with dementia. While residents and relatives generally appreciate the kind approach of the staff and note that there are enough team members to meet daily needs, a recent inspection highlighted several important areas requiring attention and active improvement.

When it comes to safety, the home faced significant challenges following a fly infestation that began in October 2022, which posed hygiene risks and was not managed with prompt, robust risk assessments. Furthermore, staff missed opportunities to properly investigate unexplained skin injuries or report safeguarding concerns to local authorities and regulators in a timely manner, and several daily health risks lacked clear documentation or action plans.

On the positive side, the daily delivery of care benefits from a stable, adequately sized staff team and safe management of medicines. Relatives report that visitors are warmly welcomed into the home.

Regarding daily choices and consent, staff generally support residents in a less restrictive way, though the formal recording of best-interest decisions under the Mental Capacity Act needs more consistent application, particularly regarding choices made during the infestation.

In terms of management and oversight, internal quality assurance systems failed to catch and address the serious environmental and safeguarding concerns quickly. Communication with families regarding ongoing issues like the fly problem was at times inadequate, and certain required incident notifications were not sent to the CQC.

To address these shortcomings, the registered manager has actively engaged with the local authority, environmental health, and clinical specialists. The leadership team is currently embedding new improvement processes and updating risk management practices to ensure higher standards of care moving forward.