Lynfords

Updated 16 February 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 could 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

There was one inspector.

Service and service type

Lynfords is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Lynfords is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. A new manager had been in post for three weeks and they told us they would be submitting their application to register.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

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 reviewed the information we held about the service and the service provider. We looked at notifications we had received for this service. Notifications are information about important events the service is required to send us by law. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During and after our inspection

We started our inspection on 13 December 2022. We spoke with 1 person and observed staff interacting with others to help us understand the experience of people living at the service. We spoke with 2 care staff and the manager. We also met with 1 person’s relatives. We spent time reviewing records, which included records relating to health and safety and the management of the home. On 22 December 2022 we also spoke with 2 people’s relatives and with a visiting professional. Since then we received correspondence from 2 people’s relatives and from 5 professionals. We also continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate the evidence found. We looked at 3 care plans, audits, training data, quality assurance records and meeting minutes.

Updated 16 February 2023

About the service

Lynfords is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to 6 people with a learning disability. At the time of inspection there were 5 younger adults and older people living there. People living at Lynfords needed support with personal care, mobility, health and communication needs. Accommodation was on the ground floor only and the building had been specifically designed to meet the needs of people with physical disabilities.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. 'Right support, right care, right culture' is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Care

Care was not always person-centred. For example, we could not be sure that people always had their own toiletries. This was addressed immediately at the time of inspection. Records did not always demonstrate that people were given choices in relation to the food they ate and the activities they participated in.

We observed that staff were caring in their approach and people responded warmly to them. Relatives and professionals described staff as caring. We observed this and that people responded warmly to staff. When people needed personal care, staff ensured that this was provided by discretely taking people to their bedrooms. A professional told us, “The staff I have met have been very kind and caring on each of my visits. They seem to have the residents’ best interests. The interactions I have seen have been respectful and kind and take into account residents’ relatives.”

Right culture

There were systems to ensure people’s views were sought through keyworker meetings and there were plans to develop this further. There were no recent surveys for people or their relatives. Staff morale had been low but there were regular staff meetings and management had ensured that all staff attended a recent supervision meeting. Staff told us support had greatly improved and they felt confident this would continue. Visiting professionals all spoke positively of the impact the new manager had already made in the short time they had worked at the service.

The systems for auditing the service ensured that any shortfalls were identified. Following these checks an action plan was written to ensure that matters were assigned for addressing and a clear timescale was given.

Right Support

The model of care used ensured that people were able to make choices and decisions and any risks were assessed and reviewed regularly. As a result of reviews, applications had been submitted for additional funding to meet some people’s changed needs and to maximise their opportunities to be more independent and in control of their day. Emphasis had been placed on ensuring that staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to meet people’s individual needs. Lynfords was kept clean.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update: The rating for this service was requires improvement (published 19 July 2019) and there were 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. However, further progress is required to ensure that the progress made is sustained and embedded into everyday practice.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last 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 coronavirus 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. The overall rating for the service remains Requires Improvement.

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

Follow up

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