• Care Home
  • Care home

Archived: Lonsdale House

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

8 Lichfield Road, Walsall, West Midlands, WS4 2DH (01922) 721566

Provided and run by:
Caldmore Area Housing Association Limited

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile

All Inspections

To Be Confirmed

During a routine inspection

The inspection took place on 27 May 2015 and was unannounced. At the last inspection in December 2013 the provider was meeting all of the requirements that we looked at.

Lonsdale House provides accommodation for adults with mental health problems. At the time of the inspection there were 14 people using the service. The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were kept safe and protected from harm by staff who had a good understanding of safeguarding and the different types of abuse. Staff members we spoke with were all confident in reporting any concerns and knew the correct process to follow. People had detailed risk assessments that clearly set out the risks involved with their care with clear guidance for staff to manage these risks and keep people safe. There were enough staff to provide people with the level of support they required.

People’s medicines were managed safely, and people were supported to manage their own medicines wherever possible. We saw that medicines were all stored correctly in locked cabinets and there was a clear process for recording and auditing medicines so that they could all be accounted for.

People were cared for by staff who were well trained and supported, and were confident in providing people with effective care that met their needs.

People were asked for their consent for care and were provided with care that protected their freedom and promoted their rights their rights. Staff asked people for their permission to perform care tasks and gave people choices about their support.

People received the food and drink they required, and were supported to shop and cook for themselves wherever possible. We saw that people had a choice from the menu which was available in all the communal areas. People were able to request different meals if they did not like the choices on the menu.

We saw that staff had good caring relationships with people and knew each person’s individual preferences and needs well. People told us they liked the staff and felt the service was caring and supported them well. Staff respected people’s privacy and personal space. We were told that staff used the monitors to talk to people in their rooms and asked permission to come in and to perform any care tasks required.

People had detailed care plans that were personalised to their particular needs, and staff had a good knowledge of these plans. People had been involved in the development of their care plans, and were involved in the reviews along with family members and other professionals involved in their care.

The provider had a complaints policy in place and people knew how to make a complaint or give their feedback about the service. People told us they felt confident to raise any issues with members of staff or the registered manager, and that their concerns would be listened to and addressed.

The service had an open culture that encouraged people to be involved in the service. There were regular resident meetings that allowed people to discuss their feelings about the service and talk through any issues or suggestions they had.

There were regular audits as part of a quality assurance programme to make sure that people received high quality care. We saw details of these audits and updates to people’s care records from these. We saw there were regular reviews of care files to make sure they were kept up to date to reflect people’s changing needs.

5 December 2013

During a routine inspection

Lonsdale House provided support to people aged over 18 who were preparing to move onto more independent living who required support due to the effects of mental ill health. During the inspection we spoke with three people who were staying at Lonsdale House, two staff members and the manager.

We observed staff engaging with people in a polite and professional manner. We saw support plans were available for each person living at Lonsdale House. They gave details of the support required with life skills, this included, for example housekeeping, cooking and support with medication.

The provider had systems in place to ensure that an effective recruitment process was in place. This included an interview process. Disclosure and barring service (DBS) checks were completed and references obtained prior to staff commencing employment.

There was a policy in place to ensure people could formally raise a concerns or complaints. The policy in place ensured that all complaints would be recorded, investigated and responded to.

26 October 2012

During a routine inspection

We carried out this review to check on the care and welfare of people living at Lonsdale House. The visit was unannounced which meant the provider, manager and staff did not know we were coming.

During our inspection we observed that staff were polite and engaged appropriately with the people living at Lonsdale House. Plans of care for people were available. We spoke with the manager and care staff about the support provided at the home. Staff were knowledgeable about the level of support people required.

We asked staff about their understanding of safeguarding (protecting vulnerable adults). We asked staff about their responsibilities for reporting concerns. The staff we spoke with gave us appropriate examples of what they would report and how they would raise any concerns they may have. All staff said they were able to speak with senior staff or management.

We looked at staff files and training records for people working at Lonsdale House. The files we viewed held appropriate documentation and checks. Staff told us they had training provided and had one to one meetings with the manager.

Systems were in place for the quality monitoring of the service provided at Lonsdale House. We discussed the monitoring of the service with the registered manager. The manager gave examples and evidence of how the quality of the service was reviewed.