Lavender House Care Home

Updated 13 February 2021

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 11 January 2021 and was unannounced.

Updated 13 February 2021

About the service

Lavender House Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to 31 older people at the time of the inspection, in one adapted building. The service can support up to 36 people.

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

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.

People received outstanding care and support by a registered manager and staff team that were very committed, compassionate and knowledgeable. Staff actively encouraged people to express their views and be involved in the day-to-day running of the service. People took part in interviewing potential new staff and creating food menus that both met their preferences and any dietary requirements. People were consulted about all aspects of their care and support.

Staff were flexible and responsive to people’s individual needs and preferences, finding creative and innovative ways to help people live as full and meaningful a life as possible. Often, by going out of their way to provide this support. Staff were interested in and found out about people’s previous life interests and hobbies and encouraged and supported them to maintain these interests. Staff knew people very well and were skilled at engaging them in activities they enjoyed, including trips outside of the service. Engagement in activities and support networks outside of the service was an important part of people’s lives. Staff enabled people to have links within the local community and were always looking to build further links.

There was a strong recognition from staff that people were individuals with individual needs. Staff spoke enthusiastically and passionately about how they provided people with high quality, person-centred care. Staff were skilled at recognising when people were feeling vulnerable, needed reassurance and empathy and how this should be given.

People’s wishes, suggestions and concerns were listened to, respected, and acted on. Staff took time and strove to overcome any obstacles to help people achieve their wishes and how people wanted to spend their time. This made people feel cared for and valued.

Staff knew how to protect people from risk and harm, and how to report concerns. Staff identified any accidents and incidents that happened and quick action was taken. Learning was shared with other staff, to reduce the risk of it happening again.

Risk management plans provided detailed information for staff on how to reduce and monitor the risks to people’s health and welfare. Equipment and technology were used to increase people’s independence and support people’s well-being. People were having their medicines as prescribed. Staff were working with social care and health professionals and current guidance to promote people’s well-being. Visiting stakeholders had very positive comments about the service provided and how staff worked collaboratively with them.

People received a very kind and compassionate service from staff who knew their care and support needs very well. Staff maintained and promoted people’s privacy and dignity and respected their equality and diversity.

Recruitment checks were in place to make sure potential new staff were suitable to work with the people they supported. Staff were trained to meet people’s care and support needs, and development opportunities were in place for staff to increase their skills and knowledge. Supervisions, appraisals and competency checks were in place to monitor and develop staff.

The provider and registered manager were experienced, skilled leaders who were always clear about their expectation that a high-quality service be delivered to people. People, their relatives, representatives, and staff were encouraged to make suggestions to improve how the service was run. Audit and governance systems were in place to monitor the service, to drive forward and sustain improvements. The registered manager and their staff team linked up, communicated and worked with other organisations to ensure people’s well-being.

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 good (published 16 December 2016).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.