1 July 2015
During a routine inspection
This inspection took place on 1 July 2015 and was unannounced.
The provider of Lucton House is registered to provide accommodation with personal care for up to 51 people. Bedrooms are referred to as flats as they have separate living and sleeping areas with a kitchen and bathroom. People have the use of communal areas including a lounge and dining room.
There were 47 people living at the home when we visited and there was a registered manager in post. 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.
People we spoke with felt safe during the day and night and had no concerns about their personal safety. Support was provided by staff who knew how to keep people safe and the steps they would take to protect a person from the risk of harm.
People were also able to tell staff if the required any assistance to help reduce risks to their safety. People’s risks had been reviewed weekly to see if there were new risks or any changes. Staff were available when people needed them and staff felt they had time to support people as required.
Staff provided people with their medicines and recorded when they had received them. Where people required medicines ‘when needed’ there were no written guides for staff to follow. However, staff told us they knew people well and would ask them if they needed them.
Staff were not always confident about how to respond to people with a dementia related illness. Staff confirmed that further training in dementia care would improve their skills and knowledge. This had been recognised as an area for improvement by the provider.
People felt that staff listened and respected their decisions about their care and treatment. Staff showed they listened and responded to people’s choice to choose or refuse care. People enjoyed the food and had a choice about their meals. Where people required a specialist diet or wanted a particular choice this had been arranged.
P eople had access to other health and social care professional to maintain their health conditions. They had regular visits from their GP and when needed and were supported to attended appointments in the local community.
People were relaxed in their home and with staff. People expressed their views about their care and were involved in making decisions. Staff told us and we saw that people were supported to remain independent. Staff respected people and were polite when speaking with them. People had been supported in promoting their dignity and independence.
Staff knew people’s care needs and people felt involved in their care and treatment. Staff were able to tell us about people’s individual care needs but only had a limited knowledge of people who were staying for a period of respite. People had received external reviews to support their dementia care needs. Whilst the registered manager was confident in continuing to provide care and support, information had not always been recorded to support this.
People had maintained relationships with their families and friends who had also contributed in planning the care. People told us they had enough to do during the day and enjoyed the activities and trips out.
The registered manager was available, approachable and known by people and relatives. Staff also felt confident to raise any concerns of behalf of people. Meetings were held to obtain the view of people and their relatives.
The management team had kept their knowledge current and they led by example. The management team were approachable and visible within the home and people knew them well. The provider ensured regular checks were completed to monitor the quality of the care that people received and looked at where improvements may be needed.