Lakeland View Care Centre

Updated 5 June 2018

We carried out this comprehensive inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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.

Lakeland View Care Centre 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.

Lakeland View Care Centre accommodates 33 people in one adapted building. Accommodation is on two floors with a passenger lift for access between the floors.

Before our inspection visit we contacted the commissioning department at Lancashire County Council and Healthwatch Lancashire. Healthwatch Lancashire is an independent consumer champions for health and social care. This helped us to gain a balanced overview of what people experienced accessing the service.

As part of the inspection we used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

The comprehensive inspection visit took place on 01 and 05 March 2018 and was unannounced on the first day. The inspection team consisted of an adult social care inspector and an expert-by-experience. The 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 had a background in supporting older people.

During the visit we spoke with a range of people about the service. They included four people who lived at the home and five relatives. We also spoke with the registered manager, the two owners, the deputy manager, five care staff and the chef. We observed care practices and how staff helped and spoke with people in their care. We reviewed staffing levels, observed how staff were deployed throughout the home and monitored response times when call bells were activated. This helped us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We looked at care and medicine records of four people, a staff training matrix and recruitment records of four staff. We also looked at records related to the management of the home. We shadowed the nurse on duty as they administered medicines and looked at the storage and administration of medicines. We also checked the building to ensure it was clean, hygienic and a safe place for people to live.

Updated 5 June 2018

Lakeland View Care Centre is situated on the outskirts of Morecambe. It is a building adapted for use as a nursing home, with a number of lounge areas and outside decking. Accommodation is provided on two floors. There are 32 single and one twin bedroom, with shared bathroom facilities.

Lakeland View Care Centre can accommodate up to 33 people who require nursing or personal care. There were 31 people living at Lakeland View Care Centre at the time of our inspection. People who lived in Lakeland View were older people who lived with dementia, mental health needs, a physical disability or a sensory impairment.

There was a registered manager in place. 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 the last inspection in December 2015, the service was rated ‘Good’. At this inspection we found the service remained Good and met the all relevant fundamental standards.

We found the registered provider continued to provide a good standard of care to people who lived at the home.

We saw staff were responsive to each person’s changing needs and adopted revised care planning to improve upon assistance. We found care planning enabled staff to work in a highly personalised and holistic approach.

People who lived at Lakeland View Care Centre had care plans that reflected their complex needs and these had been regularly reviewed to ensure they were up to date. The care plans had information related to all areas of a person’s care needs. Staff were knowledgeable of people’s needs and we observed them helping people as directed within their care plans.

Relatives told us staff treated their family members as individuals and delivered personalised care that was centred on them as an individual. Care plans seen and observations during our visit confirmed this.

We saw staff were responsive to each person’s changing needs. They worked together to ensure people who became agitated were offered a selection of person centred interventions to meet their needs and soothe their agitation. One person told us, “They have time to sit down and talk to me.”

There was a complaints procedure which was made available to people and visible within the home. People we spoke with, and visiting relatives, told us they were happy and had no complaints.

The management team provided excellent opportunities to optimise people’s social and stimulation requirements. People received non-judgemental support with activities within the home and were supported to maintain lifestyle choices and hobbies outside of the home.

The service had systems to record safeguarding concerns, accidents and incidents and took action as required. The service carefully monitored and analysed such events to learn from them and improve the service. Staff had received safeguarding training and understood their responsibilities to report unsafe care or abusive practices. The registered provider had consistently reported incidents to the commission when required.

People told us staff were caring and respectful towards them. Staff we spoke with understood the importance of providing high standards of care and enabled people to lead meaningful lives.

We found there were sufficient numbers of staff during our inspection visit. They were effectively deployed, trained and able to deliver care in a compassionate and patient manner.

Staff we spoke with confirmed they did not commence in post until the management team completed relevant checks. We checked staff records and noted employees received induction and ongoing training appropriate to their roles.

Risk assessments had been developed to minimise the potential risk of harm to people during the delivery of their care. Care records showed they were reviewed and any changes had been recorded.

We looked around the building and found it had been refurbished, maintained, was clean and a safe place for people to live. We found equipment had been serviced and maintained as required.

Medication care plans and risk assessments provided staff with a good understanding about specific requirements of each person who lived at Lakeland View Care Centre.

Staff wore protective clothing such as gloves and aprons when needed. This reduced the risk of cross infection. We found supplies were available for staff to use when required, such as hand gels.

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

We only received positive comments about the quality of meals provided. One person told us about the meals, “Excellent. Get a choice of two at lunch and tea and will make you something else if you want.” Staff told us they also supported people to go out for meals, mentioning one person who liked chip shop chips. We observed lunch time and noted people had their meal in the dining room where they sat or in their bedroom. People told us it was their choice where they sat.

We observed only positive interactions between staff and people who lived at Lakeland View Care Centre. There was a culture of promoting dignity and respect towards people. We saw staff took time and chatted with people as they performed moving and handling procedures in communal areas.

The management team used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included regular audits, staff meetings and daily discussions with people who lived at the home to seek their views about the service provided. In addition, annual surveys were carried out for people who lived at Lakeland View Care Centre, their relatives and staff.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.