Lambourne House

Updated 30 December 2021

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

Two inspectors and an Expert by Experience carried out the inspection. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Lambourne House is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since registration with CQC. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke or communicated with nine people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. People who were unable to talk with us used different ways of communicating including Makaton, pictures, photos, symbols, objects and their body language. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, senior support workers and support workers. We spent time observing the support and communication between people and staff in shared areas of the house.

We are improving how we hear people’s experience and views on services, when they have limited verbal communication. We have trained some CQC team members to use a symbol-based communication tool. We checked that this was a suitable communication method, and that people were happy to use it with us. We did this by reading their care and communication plans and speaking to staff or relatives and the person themselves. In this report, we used this communication tool with three people to tell us their experience.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI) spent time observing people. SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and numerous medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with one professional who regularly visited the service.

Updated 30 December 2021

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

About the service

Lambourne House is a care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to nine adults with learning disabilities and/or a variety of associated health and support needs. At the time of inspection, the service was supporting nine people. People live in one large house.

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

Right Support

People and relatives told us staff supported people to take part in activities and pursue their interests in their local area. A visiting professional told us about how staff engaged with people to participate in activities, “Staff interact with people in a positive way, everyone is supported to access activities”. Staff supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing. Relatives were consistently positive about how people were supported, their feedback included, “I trust them”, “They know all of [persons] likes and dislikes” and “I’d never like them to be moved”.

The service gave people care and support in a safe, clean, well equipped, well-furnished and well-maintained environment. This met their sensory and physical needs, while making it feel homely. One relative said, “The home is fantastic – very much so”.

Right Care

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs with genuine regard for the person. A relative said, “[Person] is very well cared for”. Relatives were assured staff supported people well, their comments included, “They’re all very well looked after”,” Its lovely there”, and “[Person] is always happy”.

People received care that supported their needs and aspirations, was focused on their quality of life, and followed best practice. A relative told us how staff had supported their loved one with daily living skills. “I was so impressed, [staff] were kind and patient, connected with [the person]”. Staff sat with the person and provided encouragement. This supported the person to work towards being more independent with this task.

Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. People and relatives told us they felt safe.

Right culture

Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. The registered manager and staff understand the importance of family to the people and make communication a priority. A relative said, “I can just call and say I’m popping over and they always say fine.” Relatives spoke highly of the registered manager and staff, and one told us, “[Person] needs a lot of help from special people. Everything we would want is provided by them.”

People and those important to them, including advocates, were involved in planning their care. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. We saw staff fully involving people with activities and tasks of their choosing. People’s quality of life was enhanced by the service’s culture of improvement and inclusivity.

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.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 25 September 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support right care right culture. This was a planned first inspection following registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

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.