The Laurels

Updated 26 September 2023

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 1 inspector.

Service and service type

The Laurels 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. The Laurels is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

The provider was registered as an individual. They also managed the service and therefore were not required to employ an additional registered manager.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. 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 (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke with 3 people using the service, 3 relatives, the manager and 2 care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people’s care records, 3 staff files, training records, incident records, environmental checks and quality assurance processes.

Updated 26 September 2023

About the service

The Laurels is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 11 people. The service provides care and support to older people some of whom live with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 10 people using the service.

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

People were kept safe in the service by enough staff who knew them well and who had the right skills, experience and knowledge to look after them. People told us they felt safe receiving the service.

Policies and systems were in place to help protect people from the risk of harm, abuse, and improper treatment. Risks had been identified to both those people who used the service, and staff. Medicines were administered following best practice.

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 needs were assessed including risks to people’s health and the environment they lived in and they were monitored to ensure safety. The service was well maintained, clean and homely. Staff received training, guidance and support to do their job well.

The manager delivered an effective service because they worked in partnership with other health care professionals. There were up to date systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and any learning was identified and acted upon and the registered manager understood their regulatory responsibilities.

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 this service was good (published November 2018).

Why we inspected

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

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 those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.