Archived: Lavender House Care Home

Updated 25 July 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This comprehensive inspection took place on the 11 and 15 June 2018 and was unannounced. Two inspectors and an expert by experience carried out day one of the inspection. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The expert by experience in this inspection had a background in nursing and working with people living with dementia. One inspector carried out the second day of the inspection.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed previous inspection reports and notifications we had been sent by the provider. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We also reviewed copies of quality monitoring visits by the local authorities and action plans associated with their findings.

We spoke with nine people and three relatives. We also spoke with the registered manager, five care staff and healthcare professional.

We looked at care plans and associated records for five people and records relating to the management of the service. These included two staff recruitment files, records of complaints, accidents and incidents, and quality assurance records. We observed care and support being delivered in communal areas.

The home was last inspected in February 2017, where the service was rated requires improvement.

Updated 25 July 2018

This inspection took place on 11 and 15 June 2018 and was unannounced.

Lavender House Care Home is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Lavender House Care Home accommodates up to 20 people in one adapted building. The service accommodated older people, some of whom were living with dementia. There were 19 people at the service at the time of inspection. The accommodation is over two floors, each floor is accessible via stairs or a stairlift.

The service was rated Requires Improvement at its last inspection in February 2017 and had breached one regulation in relation to not submitting notifications to CQC as required. Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do to meet the breach and improve the key questions of Well Led to at least Good. At this inspection, we found that the provider had made sustained improvements by ensuring that they had systems in place to ensure that all relevant notifications were sent to CQC in a timely manner.

The service had a registered manager in place at the time of our inspection. 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.

The registered manager had an effective overview of the service and monitored the quality and safety of the service using a range of audits and checks. They were familiar with people’s needs and understood the challenges staff faced in providing effective care.

The provider had made links with healthcare services to take part in a scheme designed to promote the health and wellbeing of people living in care home settings. Staff had received training to take observations of people’s vital signs which healthcare professionals could use to make informed judgements about appropriate treatment plans.

The registered manager had established effective working relationships with a range of stakeholders included professionals and members of the community to provide resources, support and meaningful activities for people.

People and relatives told us staff were very caring and accommodating to their needs. People were treated with dignity and respect and staff were encouraged to spend quality time with people, offering comfort and reassurance where required.

People received personalised care and told us they were involved in making decisions about their care. People were encouraged to remain independent by carrying out domestic routines which they were familiar with and enjoyed. People’s needs were assessed to ensure that they had appropriate levels of care in place and that the service could meet their needs.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed and the provider had safe and effective systems in place to manage the ordering, storage, administration and disposal of medicines. People’s nutritional needs and preferences were met by staff who were flexible and patient in their approach when supporting people at mealtimes.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

Risks associated with people’s health were assessed, monitored and mitigated. Where appropriate, the registered manager made referrals to other professionals to ensure people received timely care and treatment.

There were systems in place to help protect people from abuse and harm. There were systems in place to report concerns about people’s wellbeing and minimise the risk of harm.

There were systems in place to ensure that people’s complaints were handled appropriately. The registered manager sought feedback from people, relatives, professionals and staff about how to make improvements to the service. The registered manager demonstrated that they could learn from feedback to make sustained improvements to the quality and safety of the service.

There were enough suitability skilled and qualified staff in place to meet people’s needs. The provider had robust recruitment checks in place to identity suitable staff.

The home was a suitable environment to meet people’s needs. People told us that the home needed decoration, but that this was not to the detriment of their wellbeing or happiness.

The home was clean and there were effective systems in place to prevent the spread of infections.