Archived: The Lourdes Community Nursing and Residential Care Home

The Lourdes Community Nursing and Residential care home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 15 people. At the time of our inspection 15 people were living at the service. All the people living at the service are Sisters of a religious order. There are two religious orders that the Sisters belonged to The Order of Ursuline and The Order of the Daughters of Jesus.

People's experience of using this service:

The Sisters told us they felt safe and supported by staff in the way they preferred. They told us staff were very kind and knew how to keep them safe.

Potential risks to the Sister’s health and welfare had been assessed and there was guidance for staff to mitigate the risks.

The Sisters told us they received their medicines when they needed them, staff liaised with the GP and pharmacy to make sure people had the medicines they needed.

There were enough staff on each shift to meet the Sister's needs. Staff told us they were able to care for the Sisters in an unrushed manner.

The Sisters were supported by staff who had been recruited safely and received training and supervision to keep people as safe as possible.

The Sisters were supported to be as independent as possible and lead a healthy lifestyle. The Sisters were supported to make choices and express their views about their care and daily life. Staff supported people to access the community and attend the activities they wanted.

The Sisters, staff and professionals were asked their opinions about the service. The results were analysed and an action plan put in place to address any issues raised.

Care plans were person-centred and provided relevant information for staff. We observed staff were kind and compassionate in their interactions and they knew the Sisters needs and their preferences. Privacy and dignity was always respected.

The Sisters were cared for by staff who knew them well. The Sisters told us staff were always kind and caring and treated them well. We observed staff treat the Sisters with dignity and respect throughout this inspection.

The Sisters told us staff supported them with their health needs and were quick to refer them to other professionals when necessary.

Rating at last inspection:

The service was rated Good at the last inspection on 19 October 2016 (report published 26 November 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. We found the service continued to meet the characteristics of Good in all areas. The rating continues to be Good.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

The Lourdes Community Nursing and Residential Home is registered to provide nursing or personal care for up to 15 people. At the time of our inspection there were 15 people living in the home.

A registered manager was 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 felt safe and comfortable living at the home and there was a calm and welcoming atmosphere. Staff were compassionate in their interactions with people and had developed positive and caring relationships with them. Staff were gentle and supportive and spoke with people in a polite and considerate manner.

Staff understood their role in keeping people safe and reducing the risk of harm to people. Risks to people had been identified, assessed and actions had been taken to minimise them. Staff respected and promoted people's independence, while remaining aware of their safety. The provider had plans to ensure people were kept safe in the event of an emergency.

Medicines were managed safely and people received the medicines they required in the correct dosage at the prescribed times. People told us staff were responsive if they were in pain.

There were enough staff to keep people safe. Safe and effective recruitment practices were followed to ensure all staff were of good character and suitable for the roles they performed. Staff were provided with an induction, further training and relevant qualifications to support them in meeting people's needs.

Staff showed an understanding of the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in relation to people they supported. Before providing care, they sought consent from people and gave them time to respond. They respected people as individuals and supported them to make their own choices as far as possible.

People were offered a choice of foods and were supported to eat and drink according to their needs. Staff ensured people obtained advice and support from other health professionals to maintain and improve their health and when their health needs changed.

People received personalised care and support. People’s care plans were regularly reviewed so staff had a clear picture of the person’s needs and of any changes in the support they required to maintain their health.

The environment of the home was responsive to people’s beliefs and spiritual needs.

Staff were committed to providing a high standard of care and enjoyed working with the people who lived in the home. However, staff did not always feel supported because they did not have regular opportunities to talk about their work or any issues on a one to one basis with managers. Staff felt there was not a consistently open culture in the home and communication between them and the management team could be improved. A staff survey in 2016 had identified some of these issues, but no action had been taken address them.

There were effective internal quality assurance systems that monitored people's care. Where accidents or incidents had occurred, they had been appropriately documented and action taken to mitigate the risks of a re-occurrence to the person involved.

We spoke with four people using the service, they all told us they were very happy and felt supported. They also told us 'The staff are so lovely. The chef is lovely and so is his food!' ' Everyone comes to say hello to me in the morning, it's the little things which matter' 'I've been here three years and I cannot say a bad word.' We viewed interactions between staff and people and people seemed at ease with each other. We saw staff seeking consent before providing care or support. We viewed care records which were completed contemporaneously and detailed individual care plans for people. Emergency planning was not in place. Staff were able to outline how to manage areas of concern relating to abuse, but the policy was incomplete. Medication was administered, storage and ordered correctly however the medication policy was not up to date. Quality assurance checks were in place and feedback was sought from people and their representatives.