We carried out a review of the data available to us about Lenore Care Home on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Lenore Care Home, you can give feedback on this service.
Lenore care home is based in Whitley Bay and provides accommodation for up to 23 people with mental health issues, who require assistance with personal care and support. At the time of our inspection 23 people were using the service.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
People enjoyed living at Lenore. They followed their interests, were supported and enabled by staff who had positive outlooks on care.
Risks to people's health and safety were clearly assessed, reviewed and actions were in place to reduce risks. The provider had clear safeguarding policies and systems in place. Staff understood these and worked openly with external partners to keep people safe. Lessons learned and reflective practice followed any serious incidents.
The environment was clean and safe. The provider was refurbishing the home to make improvements. These made infection prevention and control easier, and gave people more choice.
Staff were recruited safely, with pre-employment checks in place. They were supported with a range of ongoing training specific to people’s needs, supervision and competence checks.
Medicines were managed safely by suitably trained staff. Systems and process were well established to ensure good practice was in place.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People’s nutritional needs were well supported. There were some healthy eating initiatives in place.
People felt at home and had a strong rapport with staff. Staff worked hard to ensure people received the right care and support, and felt included.
Activities had reduced during the pandemic. The majority of people were enjoying accessing the community again. The registered manager planned to have an activities champion in place to help people plan their goals and activities.
The registered manager had built positive working relationships with external healthcare professionals. Feedback from external specialists was strong.
Systems were in place for sharing key information on a daily basis, such as a whiteboard and handovers.
The registered manager was supported by the provider to maintain oversight of the service.
The registered manager needed to improve their knowledge of all incidents that required notification to CQC. We have made a recommendation about this.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 24 May 2019 and this is the first inspection.
The last rating for the service, under the previous provider, was good published on 14 September 2017.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Lenore care home is based in Whitley Bay and provides accommodation for people with learning disabilities and/or mental health issues, who require assistance with personal care and support. At the time of our inspection 22 people were using the service.
We found the following examples of good practice:
• All visitors had to undergo a temperature check and answer a range of relevant questions before entry. There was ample PPE, handwashing facilities and signage.
• Staff used a separate entrance to enable social distancing and safe donning/doffing of PPE.
• The registered manager demonstrated a sound understanding of national guidance and had worked well with external agencies to help protect people who used the service.
• The service had not used agency staff and ensured people received a continuity of care. People were supported to understand the implications of the pandemic through easy-read documentation and personalised care plans.