Archived: Lea House Residential Care Home

Is the service safe?

We saw that people were treated with respect and dignity. The people we spoke with told us staff respected their privacy and dignity and supported them in a way that suited their individual needs and personal preferences.

The environment was clean, tidy and hygienically clean.

For the outcome areas we looked at during this inspection visit we saw that staff had received appropriate training to ensure they had the knowledge, skills and experience to meet the assessed needs of people living at the home. This meant that people living in the home could be confident that their needs were being met by fully trained staff.

Systems were in place to make sure that managers and staff learned from events such as incidents, complaints, and safeguarding events.

We saw that policies and procedures were in place to support staff in delivering safe and effective care.

Management systems were in place to monitor and audit all aspects of practice such as checks on care plans and medication audits.

Is the service effective?

People living at Lea House Residential Care Home had a care file that included assessments of needs and risk. A corresponding care plan had been implemented to meet their individual needs. The assessments and care plans were reviewed on a monthly basis and updated accordingly.

The home was clean, tidy, free from offense odours and was nicely decorated and furnished.

Prior to people being admitted into the home a member of staff visited the person to carry out an assessment of their needs. This meant that people could feel confident that the service could meet their individual and personal care needs when they moved into the home.

The service had recently been awarded a 'Dementia development grant' following a detailed application tender to the Department of Health. The money received had been used to create a more Dementia friendly environment and some refurbishment and redecoration work had been undertaken.

Is the service caring?

The atmosphere in the home felt relaxed, pleasant and friendly. From our observations we saw that care staff had a good understanding of people's individual needs and preferences. People were seen to be freely moving around the home and staff were kind and sensitive in their approach to people. We saw that staff responded promptly to peoples requests or need for assistance.

We observed that people looked well cared for and were appropriately dressed.

Some of the comments we received from people living at the home were: 'They look after me very well,', 'The staff are nice and kind' and 'I am happy here.'

When we spoke with people living in the home and some of their relatives we were told that the staff carried out their care duties in a caring way. One visitor said 'Everybody always looks well cared for and the staff are all very nice and helpful.'

Is the service responsive?

We saw that where appropriate the service had accessed advice and care from other health care professionals. For example we saw evidence of visits from the GP, the district nurse, the chiropodist, the optician and the speech and language therapist. This meant that people using the service received co-ordinated care and support.

When we spoke with families and visitors to the home we were told that they were happy with the standard of care and they had not seen or heard anything of concern but if they did they would feel confident to report it.

The service had systems in place to ensure that people were regularly consulted about their views and ideas on how the home should be run. This was done by means of regular informal chats with people and feedback surveys. We saw evidence of these surveys being carried out on a regular basis, following which an analysis of the findings would be conducted.

Is the service well led?

Since the last inspection visit a new manager and deputy manager had been appointed. The manager was in the process of applying to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for their registration. Staff and visitors spoken with said they thought standards generally in the home had improved since the new manager and deputy manager had taken up post. We saw that the manager had an enthusiastic approach and a willingness to continually improve and develop the service.

When we looked at documentation we saw that there were good systems in place to audit and monitor care practices in the home. These actions helped to ensure that people received a good quality of service at all times.

People we spoke with told us that their privacy and dignity was respected and they were happy with the care received. One person said 'The staff are very good indeed.' Another comment was 'The staff are very kind and helpful.'

People we spoke with, with the exception of one person told us that the food was of a high standard. We were told that drinks and snacks were available on request and there was a choice of food at mealtimes.

We looked at the complaints procedure and found that it was clear and available for people to access.

We found some improvements were needed to ensure consistent and accurate recordings in peoples care records.

During the inspection, we spoke with four people who used the service, a visiting healthcare professional, two visitors to the home, the provider and the manager as well as the staff team. We also used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

People we spoke with said that they were satisfied with the care and support they received. One person told us that staff were: "Excellent, very kind both day and night staff.' Another person said: 'You could not fault the staff they are always very courteous and respectful."

A visiting healthcare professional told us: 'Although initially with the staff changing it was problematic because staff did not know the residents very well. Now as the staff team are settled I have found that improvements have been made in communication as has the staff knowledge about the people they care for.' They raised no concerns and told us they visited the home regularly.