Lyncroft Care Home

Lyncroft Care Home is a two-storey adapted residential care home. People have access to communal areas including accessible gardens and outside facilities. The service provides support for up to 53 people, including to younger adults and older people, some of whom lived with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 47 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Staff knew how to recognise signs of harm, and to whom they could report these when needed, such as the registered manager or the local safeguarding authority. All those people and relatives we spoke with felt people were kept safe.

Risks were identified and managed well which helped keep people safe. Trained and competent staff administered and managed people's medicines safely, and as prescribed. Enough suitably skilled staff had been safely recruited. The service and the staff team took on board learning when things went wrong and staff followed infection prevention and control guidance and good practise.

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

Following incidents reported to us in March 2022 there had been a change of registered manager. The provider investigated incidents and took appropriate actions.

Monitoring and oversight of the service was effective in identifying and driving improvements. The current registered manager led by example and had fostered an open and honest staff team culture. They understood their responsibilities to report incidents to the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Staff received appropriate support to provide people with good quality and safe care.

People, relatives and staff had a say in how the service was provided. The provider worked well with other organisations, to provide people with joined up care.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for the service was Good, published on 15 January 2019.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part by notification of a number of specific incidents, following which some people using the service were not safeguarded from harm. These incidents are subject to a criminal investigation. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incidents. The information CQC received about the incidents indicated concerns about the management of Lyncroft Care Home. This inspection examined those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the Safe and Well-led question sections of this full report.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

We found the following examples of good practice.

Staff followed the providers robust infection prevention and control procedures. This included checking their temperature upon commencing each shift and wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). There were adequate stations for staff to change their PPE. Staff had completed training in infection control and the correct use off PPE. Competency checks and daily visual checks were completed to ensure best practice was followed.

Visitors entered the home using a dedicated entrance to visit their friends and family. All visits were booked in advance. The visiting room was partitioned by a screen to keep people safe, allowing families and friends to meet. The room was thoroughly cleaned after each visit. Visitors were required to take a COVID-19 test and wait for the results before commencing their visit.

Staff and service users took part in the national COVID-19 testing programme for care homes. Individual risk assessments were completed to keep people and staff safe. The home had two floors that were treated as separate zones. Staff only worked in their allocated zone, in order to reduce movement across the home and any subsequent risk of cross contamination and transmission of infection.

The building looked clean and free from clutter. Appropriate cleaning products were used, to ensured good infection control was maintained. Cleaning schedules ensured frequently touched areas were sanitised regularly.

Any updates or changes to guidance, in relation to COVID-19, were communicated to both staff and people living in the home. The registered manager confirmed that they had received a good level of support and information from the local authority. Staff and residents had received their vaccinations.

People’s experience of using this service:

¿ People continued to feel safe living at the service. Risks in relation to people’s health, safety and welfare had been identified and action taken where appropriate. Staffing levels were appropriate to meet the needs of the people using the service. Medicines were safely managed. The home was clean and tidy. There were systems in place to monitor incidents and accidents and learn from these.

¿ Staff were skilled and competent and knew the people they supported well. People’s care, health and cultural needs were identified so staff could meet these. People had their nutritional needs met. People were supported to maintain good health. Staff made referrals to health professionals when required. Staff worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and ensured people consented to their care.

¿ People continued to receive care from staff who were kind and caring. People’s privacy and dignity was protected and promoted. People had developed positive relationships with staff who had a good understanding of their needs and preferences.

¿ People received person centred care that met their needs. Care plans gave details of how people would like their needs met. People took part in a range of group and one-to-one activities depending on their preferences. People said they knew how to make a complaint if needed.

¿ People, relatives and staff told us the service was well managed and had an open and friendly culture. Staff said the service had a family atmosphere and they felt well-supported. Managers and staff worked in partnership with other agencies to ensure people got the care and support they needed.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 19 August 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service remains Good.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor all intelligence received about the service to ensure the next inspection is scheduled accordingly.

A previous inspection took place on 6 August 2015 and the service was rated overall as ‘requires improvement’. There were no breaches of the Health and Social Act 2008 (regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. However, we found that the provider ‘required improvement’ under the questions. Is the service safe? Is the service effective? Is the service responsive and is the service well-led?

This unannounced inspection took place on 19 July 2016.

There was no registered manager in place during this inspection. The provider had put a new manager into the home with the view to them becoming the 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.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and report on what we find. Applications were in the process of being made to the local authorising agencies to lawfully restrict people’s liberty where appropriate. Staff demonstrated to us that they respected people’s choices about how they wished to be supported. Staff were able to demonstrate a basic understanding of the MCA and DoLS to ensure that people would not have their freedom restricted in an unlawful manner.

Plans were in place to minimise people’s identified risks and to assist people to live as independent and safe a life as possible. Records were in place for staff to monitor people’s assessed risks, and their support and care needs. Areas for improvements had been identified and on-going improvements were in progress.

People’s nutritional and hydration needs were met.

Arrangements were in place to ensure that people were supported with their prescribed medicines safely. People’s medicines were managed, stored and disposed of appropriately. When required, people were referred to and assisted to access a range of external healthcare professionals. People were supported to maintain their health and well-being.

People were supported by staff in a respectful and kind way. People’s support and care plans gave prompts and guidance to staff on any individual assistance a person may require. However, this had been identified by the manager as an area of required improvement.

People’s care plans included the person’s wishes on how they were to be supported and their likes and dislikes. An activities co-ordinator and staff assisted people with their interests and activities and promoted social inclusion. People’s family and friends were encouraged to visit the home and staff made them welcome.

Staff were trained to provide care and support which met people’s individual needs. The standard of staff members’ work performance was reviewed during supervisions, spot checks and appraisals. This was to make sure that staff were deemed competent and confident by the manager to deliver people’s support and care needs.

Staff understood their responsibility to report any suspicions of harm or poor care practice. There were pre-employment safety checks in place to ensure that all new staff were deemed suitable to work with the people they supported. There was a sufficient number of staff to provide people with safe support and care.

The manager sought feedback from people and their relatives. People who used the service and their relatives were able to raise any concerns or suggestions that they had with the manager and staff and they felt listened to.

Staff meetings took place and staff were encouraged to raise any ideas or concerns that they may have had. Quality monitoring processes to identify areas of improvement required within the home were in place and formally documented any action required.