Legh House

Updated 16 February 2021

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.

As part of CQC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic we are looking at the preparedness of care homes in relation to infection prevention and control. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 14 January 2021 and was announced.

Updated 16 February 2021

This unannounced comprehensive inspection took place on 18 April 2018 and was carried out by one adult social care inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using services or caring for a person who uses services. In this case the expert by experience had experience in caring for a person living with dementia. We last inspected this home on 6 February 2016 and it was rated as ‘Good’ overall and ‘Requires Improvement’ in the Effective key question.

Legh House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The home is registered to accommodate up to 19 older people in one adapted building. Nursing care is not provided by staff at Legh House. This is provided by the community nursing service. At the time of this inspection there were 18 people living in the home.

The service had a registered manager. 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.’

At our last inspection in February 2016 we rated the service good overall and requires improvement in Effective. At this inspection in April 2018 we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good overall and the rating in Effective had improved to good. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Legh House provided elderly people living with dementia and other health conditions with accommodation, care and support. People were protected from risks relating to their health, their dementia related behaviours, mobility, medicines, nutrition and possible abuse. Staff had assessed individual risks to people and had taken action to seek guidance and minimise identified risks. Staff knew how to recognise possible signs of abuse.

Where accidents and incidents had taken place, these had been reviewed and action had been taken to reduce the risks of reoccurrence. Staff supported people to take their medicines safely and staffs’ knowledge relating to the administration of medicines were regularly checked. Staff told us they felt comfortable raising concerns.

Recruitment procedures were in place to help ensure only people of good character were employed by the home. The registered manager was working towards updating their staff files and ensuring all necessary paperwork was available. Staff underwent Disclosure and Barring Service (police record) checks before they started work. Staffing numbers at the home were sufficient to meet people’s needs. Staff had the competencies and information they required in order to meet people’s needs. Staff received sufficient training. The registered manager was working on improving the regularity and content of staff supervisions and appraisal.

Staff treated people with kindness and respect. We found staff had caring attitudes towards people and spoke highly of them, their personalities and qualities. There was a warm and pleasant atmosphere at the home where people and staff shared jokes and laughter. Staff knew people and their preferences well. People’s comments included, “All the staff are lovely” and “They are so kind.”

Staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and put it into practice. Where people had been unable to make a particular decision at a particular time, their capacity had been assessed and best interests decisions had taken place and had been recorded. Where people were being deprived of their liberty for their own safety the registered manager had made Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard (DoLS) applications to the local authority.

People’s individual needs were identified and staff worked hard to meet these. Comments from people included, “It was the best decision I could have made to come here. The carers are great and I feel well looked after” and “I love it here, it’s better than my own home.” People were supported to have enough to eat and drink in ways that met their needs and preferences.

There was open and effective management at Legh House. People, relatives, staff and healthcare professionals were asked for their feedback and suggestions in order to improve the service. There were effective systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the care and support being delivered.

Further information is in the detailed findings below