Lansdowne Hill Care Home

Updated 23 May 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 20 March 2018 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by two inspectors 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.

Before the inspection, we asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at the PIR, previous inspection reports and notifications we had received. Notifications are certain events that providers are required by law to tell us about. In addition, we contacted external professionals who have contact with people and the service to obtain their views. We heard back from four external professionals.

We spoke with eight people, five relatives, the registered manager, deputy manager, six care staff, maintenance person, chef and one external professional. During the inspection we looked at six people’s care plans, four staff files, medicine records and other records relating to the management of the service. We observed care practice throughout the inspection. We also used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

Updated 23 May 2018

We undertook an unannounced inspection of Lansdowne Hill Care Home on 20 March 2018.

Lansdowne Hill Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The home is registered to provide accommodation for up to 46 persons who require personal care. On the day of our inspection 43 people were living at the service.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service had improved and was meeting the characteristics of outstanding in Caring and Well-led domains. When the two or domains are rated as Outstanding the overall rating is also Outstanding.

People were at the heart of Lansdowne Hill Care Home. We saw examples of staff wanting to make a positive difference to people’s quality of life. This reflected the values that staff held and the culture of the service ‘being more than a job’. People said they felt well cared for and were offered emotional support when needed. Relatives said they felt encouraged to maintain important relationships with their loved ones and could visit at any time. They said the management team were good at keeping them informed about people's care. People’s dignity was always respected and people were able to build meaningful, caring relationships with staff.

The service was led by a longstanding, registered manager who promoted a service that put people at the forefront of all the service did. 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.

The registered manager was very passionate about working with people and their aim was to ensure the service met people’s physical and emotional needs. There was a very high level of confidence in the leadership and management of the service expressed by people, relatives and external professionals. The registered manager ensured ongoing development opportunities were available for staff and their development. The team worked closely with other agencies and promoted an open and transparent culture that promoted a strong emphasis on continually striving to improve the service. There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided and appropriate action was taken promptly when required.

The atmosphere at Lansdowne Hill was one of calmness, order and positivity. This enabled staff to embed a strong culture that valued people, relatives and staff and promoted a caring ethos.

People remained safe living in the home. There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs and staff had time to spend with people. Risk assessments were carried out and these promoted positive risk taking which enable people to live their lives as they chose. People received their medicines safely.

People continued to receive effective care from staff that had the skills and knowledge to support them and meet their needs. People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the procedures in the service supported this practice. People were supported to access health professionals when needed and staff worked closely with people's GPs to ensure their health and well-being was monitored. Professionals said staff worked collaboratively with them to ensure people received high standards of care.

The service continued to be responsive to people's needs and ensured people were supported in a personalised way. People's changing needs were responded to promptly. People had access to a variety of activities that met their individual needs. The registered manager saw feedback and concerns as a learning opportunity and complaints were managed in line with the provider’s policy.