Archived: Lynwood Residential Care Home

Is the service safe?

Is the service effective?

Is the service caring?

Is the service responsive to people's needs?

Is the service well led?

Below is a summary of what we found. The summary is based on our inspection of records relating to the care and welfare of the people who use the service, speaking with the registered manager and the deputy manager. We also looked at personnel records and maintenance records. If you want to see the evidence supporting our summary please read the full report.

Is the service safe?

Lynwood Residential Care Home provides support to people with varying personal care needs which include people who are living with dementia. The premises are located in a quiet residential area of Heaton Mersey, Stockport. The building is a detached Victorian house that has been extended to provide accommodation for up to 23 people.

We saw people had received an assessment of their care needs and that either the person or a family member had signed consent forms. We saw that risk assessments were 'person centred' and contained instructions for care staff on how support the person with their care needs.

Is the service effective?

Recruitment and selection procedures were in place which included the provider obtaining two references before the person commenced employment. This ensured as far as possible that only people with a good character were employed.

We saw from looking at the care plans that there was a good understanding of the person's needs and the support they required.

Is the service caring?

People's preferences were recorded in the care plan and they were able to express their views and opinions during one to one informal meetings with the provider, assessments and reviews.

Is the service responsive to people's needs?

We saw that people's needs were assessed before they were offered a place at Lynwood Residential Care Home.

There was an activities organiser who worked part time.

We saw that people were referred to other healthcare professionals as and when necessary; these included GP, district nurse and podiatrist.

Is the service well led?

The manager monitored the care plans and daily records to make sure that they were up to date and was meeting people's needs.

The manager also ensured that all the equipment was serviced regularly and that copies of certificates were kept in the maintenance file.

Training records were completed to ensure that staff had up to date training.

Many of the people who were living at Lynwood were living with dementia and

could not always give their verbal opinions on the service they received. However we observed during our visit that people were treated with respect. We were also able to understand from the people we spoke with that they were happy with the care provided.

From the records we looked at we saw that people who lacked capacity were fully protected when decisions were necessary regarding their health and personal care needs.

A relative also told us that they were pleased with the care their relative received. They also told us, 'I visit regularly and I have never seen anything that would cause me concern in the way people are treated ".

At the time of our inspection we noted that Lynwood was clean and free from unpleasant odours.

Staff training was in place to protect the people who lived at Lynwood such as moving and handling, safeguarding adults and health and safety. This helped to ensure that the staff team had the qualifications and skills to meet people's needs. National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) had been undertaken by the staff team in Health and Social Care. Fire awareness training had been provided at the home for the workers.

We looked at two staff recruitment records and saw that the provider had recruited both care staff without carrying out all of the pre-employment checks before they started working at the home.

Is the service effective?

A relative spoken with said that they were kept informed about their relative's care. They also told us that if they had any concerns they were comfortable with talking to the manager or the care workers. They also told us "The owners of the home are here a lot and are involved with people's care."

From the two care plans that we looked at we saw that people received appropriate care to meet their needs. We saw records to confirm that healthcare professionals such as GP's and district nurses also visited the home as requested. Notes were made of the visits on the person's care plan.

The home had been adapted and extended. The first floor can be accessed via a passenger lift. We saw there was equipment available such as hoists, assisted baths, pressure relieving mattress and cushions to support people's individual needs.

The deputy manager told us that the staff team were efficient, that they all worked well together and that most of the staff had worked at the home for a number of years.

Is the service caring?

All of the six people we spoke with said that they had no concerns about the care provided. A relative said "I am very pleased with the care here; I am always kept informed and I am included in any meetings about my relative.'

Six people spoken with said that they had no complaints and that the staff were good. One person said the staff were 'All very nice'. They also told us that they felt well supported and cared for by the staff.

A relative spoken with with told us that their brother was always clean and smartly dressed. All of the people we saw on the day of the inspection looked comfortable, clean, and well nourished.

Is the service responsive?

We saw that people's needs were assessed before they were admitted to the home to ensure that their needs could be met. We saw that care plans were in place that reflected the person's care needs to ensure that they received appropriate care. We noted that necessary individual risk assessments were not in place.

Care plans and medication records were audited regularly to make sure that people's

changing needs were being met.

The manager told us that the staffing levels reflected the number of people who were living at the home and the level of their care needs. The people we spoke with said that they thought there was enough staff at the home to meet their needs.

A relative told us that the GP was called as and when necessary and that they had no worries about their relative being given medication appropriately.

Is the service well-led?

Lynwood Residential Care Home was owned by a Mr. and Mrs. Munif who are very involved with the day to day management of the home. Mrs. Munif is also the registered manager of Lynwood. There was also a deputy manager who was also responsible for the day to day care of the people who lived at Lynwood.

The manager told us that questionnaires were distributed to the people who used the service in order to obtain their views and opinions about the service. The surveys were conducted annually and the results were analysed and shared with people who use the service and their relatives. The responses were also discussed at staff meetings in order to improve the service.

Training was provided for all staff in a number of formats including videos and work books.

We were told by people who used the service and a relative that they could talk to the managers if they had any concerns about the care being provided.

We were told that people were assessed to ensure that their individual needs could be met before they moved into the home and that in 99% of cases this was achieved with a personal visit.

We saw that measures such as monthly weight checks were conducted and where there was concern, more frequent weight checks were completed. We were shown weekly weight charts for five people, who were assessed as being at risk.

Systems were not in place to audit and monitor the quality of care provided to people using the service. This meant that people using the service were at risk of unsafe care.

We saw several examples where typed documents had been over written by hand, these entries were not attributed to an individual or dated. This meant that it was difficult to establish who had written the entry and when it had been written.

We found that people's care needs were assessed and people generally received the care that was required. However, care was not always reviewed in a timely manner or in a sufficient level of detail.

We also found that there were insufficient checks on the quality of the service provided at Lynwood. Some checks were made but we were not shown evidence that changes had been made to the service as a result of these checks.