Archived: Lyndel Homes

Lyndal Homes, Radnor Road is registered to provide accommodation and support for up to 15 people with mental health needs. On the day of the inspection visit there were 15 people living at the home. The provider is also the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

At the last comprehensive inspection in April 2015, the provider was found to be ‘requires improvement’ under the key question of ‘Is the service caring.’ At this inspection we found improvements had been made to the way people were supported which ensured their dignity and privacy was maintained. People told us staff were kind and caring and we observed caring interactions between people and staff throughout the inspection visit.

At the last focused inspection in January 2017, the provider was found to be ‘requires improvement’ under the key question of ‘Is the service well-led’. At this inspection we found improvements had been made to the provider’s recruitment processes to ensure staff were safely recruited and were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Improvements had also been made to the monitoring of the training delivered to staff to ensure they continued to meet people’s individual support needs.

People were safe at the home, supported by staff that knew people’s individual needs well. The provider had processes in place to support staff to protect people from the risk of abuse. Risk management processes had been reviewed to ensure staff received appropriate guidance on how to manage risks associated with people’s safety, health and well-being. There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s care and support needs and respond to people when required. People received their medicines as prescribed and systems used to manage medicines were safe and effective.

The provider was taking the appropriate action to ensure people who used the service were not unlawfully restricted and had processes in place to protect people’s rights.

People were supported with their nutritional and dietary needs and were offered a choice of meals. Snacks were also readily available to people to encourage a healthy nutritional intake. People were supported by staff who had the skills and knowledge to meet their care and support needs. People were supported to access healthcare professionals when they needed to and staff were aware of people’s health needs and how best to support them.

People were supported to maintain their independence where possible and were involved in decisions about their day to day care and support. Visitors were welcomed and staff recognised the importance of people maintaining relationships that were important to them.

People were satisfied with the range of activities available for them to participate in. People were involved in the planning and reviewing of their support. People knew how to complain if they were unhappy about any aspect of their care and support and there was a system in place to manage complaints.

People and staff told us they felt the home was well managed. People were asked for their feedback on the provision of service and this feedback was used to drive improvement. The provider had notified us of incidents and events as required by law.

We last inspected Lyndel Homes on the 30 September and 01 October 2015 we found the provider had met the conditions of the fundamental standards in four of the five domains with an overall Good and a Requires Improvement under Caring. We carried out this responsive inspection because we had received concerns in relation to the provider’s recruitment practices and the effectiveness and frequency of training made available to staff.

This report only covers our findings in relation to those topics. A focused inspection differs to a comprehensive inspection as it is more targeted; looking at specific concerns rather than gathering a holistic view across a service. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Lyndel Homes on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Lyndel Homes is registered to provide residential accommodation and support to up to 15 adults with mental ill health needs. On the day of our visits there were 13 people living at the home.

The service had a registered manager. 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 also the registered provider.

People received safe and effective support because staff had completed training to support them to carry out their roles. We found all staff members had completed some training with a number of staff members having completed more training than their colleagues. All the staff showed their willingness to learn and was keen for more training to be made available to them. Staff training and recruitment files were not up to date but the provider was, in time, able to show us the information we requested. The provider agreed their administrative practices for the maintaining, updating and recording of this information should have been more efficient and required some improvement.

People were supported by staff that had been suitably recruited. We found the provider had adhered to their recruitment policy and was able to show that appropriate checks had been made for all staff members. This included a right to work within the UK, police checks and employment and character references had been obtained.

Staff spoken to was able to tell us about people's needs so that they received care in a way that they preferred. One staff told us, 'People always choose and we help them.' Both relatives told us they were consulted about their relative's care and kept informed about their relative's health so they felt involved in their care.

We saw that people were relaxed in their environment and that systems were in place to keep people safe from harm. One relative told us, 'They are well looked after and safe there.'

Staff told us they had the training they needed so they knew how to support the people living there to meet their needs. Staff said they were well supported in their role.

There were systems in place to monitor how the home was run, to ensure people received a quality service.

All three care plans we looked at were up to date and we saw that they had been signed by people using the services to confirm they agreed with the plan of care. One person said, 'I know what's in my care plan because I agreed it.'

Staff spoken to was able to tell us about people's needs so that they received care in a way that they preferred. One staff told us, 'People always choose and we help them.' Both relatives told us they were consulted about their relative's care and kept informed about their relative's health so they felt involved in their care.

We saw that people were relaxed in their environment and that systems were in place to keep people safe from harm.

There were systems in place to monitor how the home was run, to ensure people received a quality service.