Archived: Laburnum Court Care Centre

Updated 21 December 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

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

The inspection was carried out by an inspector, a medicines inspector and an Expert by Experience. 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

Laburnum Court Care Centre is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Laburnum Court Care Centre is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection due to the COVID -19 pandemic to ensure we had prior information to promote safety and to ensure the registered manager and/or a representative from the provider would be present to support the inspection. Inspection activity started on 24 October 2022 and ended on 7 November 2022, by which time we had received and reviewed evidence provided after our visits to the home. We visited Laburnum Court Care Centre on 25 and 26 October 2022.

What we did before the inspection

Prior to the inspection we reviewed information and evidence we already held about the home, which had been collected via our ongoing monitoring of care services. This included notifications sent to us by the home. Notifications are changes, events or incidents that the provider is legally obliged to send to us without delay. We also asked for feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 14 people, 2 relatives and 1 other visitor, about the home and the care provided. We also spoke with 12 members of staff, which included the registered manager and a mixture of nursing, care and ancillary staff.

We reviewed a range of records and other documentation. This included 8 people’s care records, risk assessments, safety records, supplementary charts, audit and governance information. We also looked at medicines and associated records for 10 people.

After the inspection

We requested and reviewed additional evidence from the provider. This included staff training and supervision information and dependency data.

Updated 21 December 2022

About the service

Laburnum Court Care Centre is situated in a residential area of Salford. The home provides nursing care as well as care for people living with dementia. The home provides single occupancy rooms, across two units, which are known internally as 'The Lowry' and ‘The Priory’. The home is registered to support up to 68 people. At the time of inspection 49 people were living at the home.

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

Improvements were required with medicines management and the audit and governance process, including contemporaneous record keeping such as personal care, repositioning and food and fluid charts.

We have issued a recommendation in relation to staff training completion.

People told us they felt safe living at Laburnum Court Care Centre. Relatives also reported no concerns with the safety of care provision in the home, nor the staff who provided this. Staff received training in safeguarding and knew how to report concerns. Safeguarding alerts had been made to the local authority as necessary. Accidents, incidents and falls had been documented, with analysis completed to identify causes and try and prevent a reoccurrence. We found the home to be clean, with effective cleaning and infection control processes in place.

Staff received supervision and support to help them carry out their roles. 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. People’s healthcare needs were being met. Referrals had been made in a timely manner to professionals when any issues had been noted or concerns raised. Overall, people were happy with the food provided and told us they got enough to eat and drink.

People and relatives were happy with the care provided and spoke positively about the staff. Staff were described as “friendly”, “polite”, “wonderful” and “very good”. People confirmed they were given choice and their dignity was respected. People with protected characteristics were supported in line with their needs and wishes.

Care files explained people’s needs and how they wanted to be supported, although the transfer to an electronic care planning system had resulted in some inconsistencies in the quality of information. Peoples’ social and recreational needs were met through an activities programme, facilitated by an activity co-ordinator and staff members. The complaints process was displayed around the home and people and relatives told us they knew how to complain and would happily speak to staff or the registered manager if needed.

People and relatives told us the home was well run and spoke positively about the registered manager and staff. Some people and relatives said they had picked the home based on positive recommendations from others and would be happy to recommend the home themselves. People’s views were sought through meetings and surveys.

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 1 September 2021 and this is the first inspection under the current provider. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published May 2019.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and to provide a rating.

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.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the Safe, Effective and Well-led sections of the full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Laburnum Court Care Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to medicines management, staff training and governance processes, including record keeping at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.