Lambwood Heights Care home

Updated 13 August 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.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Lambwood Heights 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 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. 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 with six people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 12 members of staff including the provider, registered manager, assistant manager, senior care workers, care workers and the chef. We 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.

We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care records and multiple medicine 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 were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 13 August 2021

About the service

Lambwood Heights Care Home provides accommodation and nursing or personal care for up to 73 people. On the day of our inspection, 17 people were receiving services, some of whom were living with dementia.

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

Activities in the service were exceptionally meaningful and had a positive impact on people's lives. Activities and events were created for people that connected them to their past hobbies, interests and life. Care plans reflected people's likes and dislike and throughout our observations, there were numerous positive and friendly interactions between staff and people. The service had developed excellent links with the local community. The registered manager kept a detailed log of all comments and complaints no matter how small and actively encouraged people and relatives to speak about their views of the service. People’s wishes were recorded regarding their care towards the end of their lives.

There were systems in place to keep people safe from the risk of abuse. People and relatives felt the service was safe. There were enough staff to support them and they were recruited in a safe way to ensure that they were safe to work with people. Risks to people and the environment had been assessed and mitigated. People received their prescribed medicines safely. People were protected from the risk of acquiring infections and the service was clean. Accidents and incidents were reviewed and monitored to identify trends and to prevent reoccurrences.

Staff assessed people prior to them coming to live at the service and people told us staff knew them well. People were supported to maintain a healthy balanced diet and to eat and drink well. 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.

We have made recommendations in relation to the meal experience and capacity assessments.

Staff treated people with kindness, dignity and respect and spent time getting to know them and their specific needs and wishes. Staff were passionate about working at the service and were very keen to speak with us during the inspection.

An effective quality assurance process was in place to monitor care and plan on-going improvements which were overseen by the provider and senior team who were also based at the service.

This service was registered with us on 18 December 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This service was registered with us on 18 December 2019 and this is the first inspection..

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.

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.