Archived: Lashbrook House

Updated 14 April 2021

The inspection

This was a targeted inspection to check on concerns we had received in relation to staff training in safety, staff knowledge of people’s needs and poor risk management.

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

This inspection was undertaken by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Lashbrook 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.

There was not a registered manager in post. However, the manager was in the process of registering with CQC. This means that the provider is 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

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We looked at five people’s care records. We spoke with the manager and six staff which included, nurses, care practitioners, care staff and an administrator. 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 spoke with one nurse.

Updated 14 April 2021

About the service

Lashbrook House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 46 older people, some of whom lived with dementia. At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting 26 people.

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

The provider had made improvements since the last inspection. Overall medicines were being managed safely at the home in line with national guidance. We have made a recommendation about ensuring the electronic medicines system fully reflects people’s allergies.

Care records were detailed and up to date. This meant risks to people were assessed and managed to minimise potential harm.

Improvements had been made since the last inspection in relation to governance and oversight. Systems were effective in identifying and addressing quality concerns.

People were positive about living at Lashbrook House. Their relatives were also confident in the care their loved ones received at the home. They were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who were knowledgeable about their needs and had time to spend with them.

There were effective infection prevention and control systems in place to ensure the risk of infection was managed.

Everyone we spoke with was positive about the new home manager and complimentary about how hard the home manager and staff had worked during the COVID-19 pandemic to keep people and staff safe.

Relatives told us they had regular contact with the service throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and they felt confident to raise any concerns.

There was an open culture and staff were complimentary about the improved staff morale that had been achieved with the support of the home manager.

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 requires improvement (published 9 March 2020) and there were two breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected:

We undertook this focused inspection to check the provider had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions of Safe and Well-led which contained the previous breaches. The key question Responsive also had a breach but we ensured this was met by reviewing the Well Led section of the inspection.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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

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.