Archived: Langrigg House

Updated 15 February 2017

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 12 &14 December 2016 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.

Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service as part of our inspection. This included the notifications we had received from the provider. Notifications are changes, events or incidents the provider is legally obliged to send to the CQC within required timescales. We contacted district nurses, the team leader of the Care Home Educational Support Services and social workers from the local authority who had dealings with this home.

A Provider Information Return (PIR) was sent to the registered manager for completion. The PIR 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. This was returned in a timely fashion and contained detailed information about the service.

During our visit we met with eight people who lived in the home and spoke to three of them in depth. We spoke to three people who were visiting their relatives on both days we were in the home. We spent time with a group of people who were making Christmas decorations with the staff.

As part of our inspection we used a Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is an observational tool used to help us collect evidence about the experience of people who use services, especially where people may not be able to fully describe this themselves because of cognitive or other complex needs.

We looked at the records held pertaining to the internal quality monitoring system.

We spoke to five members of the care staff team, the cook and two supervisors. We also spoke to a local doctor who was visiting the home to visit people who were transferring to their GP practice.

We spent time with the supervisor on duty and spoke to the operations manager who visited the home during the inspection.

As part of the inspection we looked at records and care plans relating to the administration of medicines and assessed medicine management, storage, administration and disposal.

We looked at six care plans and other records in relation to the running of the service.

Updated 15 February 2017

This unannounced inspection took place on 12&14 December 2016. We last inspected this service on 6 June 2016 under the regulations that were in force at that time. This was a focussed inspection undertaken to check that improvements that needed to be made to meet legal requirements after our comprehensive inspection in October 2015 where concerns were identified. We found that the provider met the regulations we inspected at that time.

Langrigg House is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 40 older people, some of whom may be living with dementia. There were 29 people living in the home on the day of our inspection visit.

There were two registered managers in post on the day of our inspection.

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.

People who used this service were safe. The staff knew how to identify if a person was at risk of abuse and the action to take to protect people from harm. Risks to people’s safety had been assessed and measures put in place to manage any hazards identified.

Staff had completed training in the protection of vulnerable adults and we were told us that this was also discussed in supervision and staff meetings. The registered managers and the staff were aware of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

Staff had been recruited following a thorough recruitment process and they were clear about their responsibility to promptly report any concerns or safeguarding issues. Staff were well trained in subjects appropriate to their roles in the staff team.

People had access to external health care services which ensured their health care needs were met. These included GPs, district nurses, dentist and opticians. Staff had completed training in safe handling of medicines and the medicines administration records were up to date. Protocols were in place for the receipt and disposal of all medicines that came into the home.

People were provided with sufficient food and drink in order to maintain good levels of nutrition and hydration. We saw that drinks and snacks were available throughout the day.

We saw that people were treated with kindness and respect. They were included in planning and agreeing to the support they received. The care staff knew the people they were supporting well and respected the choices they made about their care. The staff knew how people communicated and gave them support to make and express choices about their lives. People were encouraged to follow activities of their choice both in the home and out in the wider community if they wished.

The registered managers set high standards and the focus of the service was on promoting people’s choices and rights. The registered managers and the staff team had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, (DoLS). They understood how to protect the rights of people who needed support to make important decisions about their lives.

The provider had systems in place to deal with any concerns or complaints. There had been no complaints to record.

There was an appropriate internal quality audit system in place to monitor the quality of the service provided.

Langrigg house was managed by two registered managers who were experienced and qualified to run the service. Staff felt well supported by the registered managers who promoted strong values and a person centred culture.