Archived: The Lawns

At the time of our inspection in January 2014 nine people were using the service. There were four care workers on duty. The new manager and deputy manager were also on duty. The new manager and deputy manager told us that people's dependency levels remained the same as at our last inspection. However, one person who had very high dependency levels had since left the home. This meant that care workers had more time to spend with the people still living at the home.

We spoke with three care workers and all told us that staffing levels had improved. One care worker told us 'Things are looking good' and another said 'staffing levels are OK now' and they felt 'pleased about the direction we are going'. Another care worker told us things had 'definitely improved ' massively'.

Prior to this visit in August 2013 we received concerns that the health and welfare of one person was not being met. We found no evidence to support this concern.

We were not able to speak with people who lived at the home, as we were not skilled in their methods of communication. However, people who lived at the home appeared relaxed and comfortable with staff.

We found no evidence that people's capacity to make decisions had been assessed. However, there was evidence that staff acted in people's best interests when making decisions on their behalf.

There had been no change to the documentation used for planning most people's care. Files were still very large and difficult to find information in. We saw some risk assessments in place, but there were none relating to nutrition or pressure areas.

We saw that medication was managed appropriately and stored securely.

Staffing levels were not adequate to meet all aspects of people's care. We found that personal care needs were being met. However, due to low staffing levels people's social care needs were not always being met satisfactorily.

We saw that improvements had been made to the quality assurance systems at the home.

At this inspection we met all 10 people who lived at The Lawns. Everyone we met appeared happy, comfortable and relaxed. People's level of communication varied and it was not possible to speak with people about their experiences at the home. Therefore, we used our SOFI (Short Observational Framework for Inspection) tool. The SOFI tool allowed us to spend time watching what was going on in the home.

We saw staff were respectful and treated people with dignity. For example staff offered help with personal care in a discreet manner. We heard staff speaking with people in a respectful and caring way. We saw staff were friendly and patient in their approach. Staff told us about people's needs and how they liked their care to be delivered, as well as their specific communication methods. We saw evidence that care plans had been regularly reviewed and updated as people's needs changed.

We toured communal areas of the home and looked at some bedrooms. All areas of the home were clean and bright with modern contemporary furnishings and fittings.

We saw and staff confirmed that the home provided them with a thorough induction and ongoing training programme. This included additional specialised training which related more directly to the individual needs of people who lived in the home.