Lyons Gardens

Updated 29 January 2022

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 the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 7 January 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 29 January 2022

Lyons Gardens is registered to provide personal care for up to 11 people. People living at the service live with a learning disability or with autistic spectrum disorder. The service specialises in offering short term care, respite care and temporary care for people requiring an emergency admission. There were ten people being supported with the regulated activity of personal care at the time of our inspection.

The service had a registered manager in post. 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.

This inspection was carried out on 30 October 2017 and was an unannounced inspection. At the last inspection on 14 December 2015, the service was rated as Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

There were enough staff available to support people’s individual needs. Staff were knowledgeable about how to report suspicions of harm and poor care practice. Pre-employment checks were in place to make sure that new staff were deemed suitable to work with the people they were supporting. People were assisted to take their medicines as prescribed and medicines were safely managed.

The CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and report on what we find. Staff were able to demonstrate an adequate understanding of the MCA to ensure that people did not have their freedom restricted in an unlawful manner. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.

People had individualised health, care and support plans in place which recorded their needs. These plans prompted staff on any assistance a person may require and how they would like the support to be given. Individual risks to people were identified and assessed by staff. Plans were put into place to minimise these risks as far as practicable to enable people to live as safe and independent a life as possible.

People were assisted to access a range of external health care professionals and were supported to maintain their health and well-being. People’s health and nutritional needs were met.

People who used the service were cared for by staff in a kind and respectful way. Relatives were given the opportunity to be involved in the setting up and review of their family members’ individual support plans. Staff supported people to maintain their interests and links with the local community.

Staff were trained to provide effective care which met people’s individual support and care needs. Staff were supported by the registered manager to maintain and develop their skills through training. The standard of staff members’ work performance was reviewed by the management through supervisions and appraisals. This was to make sure that staff were competent and confident to deliver the care required.

The registered manager sought feedback about the quality of the service provided from people and/or their relatives. There was an on-going quality monitoring process in place to identify areas of improvement required within the service. Where improvements had been identified, actions taken to reduce the risk of recurrence were recorded.

The registered manager confirmed that since they had been in the role, the CQC was informed of the majority of incidents that the provider was legally obliged to notify them of.