Lotus House

Updated 24 April 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We planned this inspection to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

One inspector carried out the inspection.

Service and service type:

Lotus House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and we looked at both during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

We carried out the inspection visit, unannounced, on 6 March 2019.

What we did:

Before the inspection visit we looked at information we held about the home and used this information as part of our inspection planning. The information included notifications. Notifications are information on important events that happen in the home that the provider must let us know about. In February 2019 the provider had sent us a completed provider information return (PIR). 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.

During our inspection we saw how the staff interacted with people who lived at Lotus House. We spoke with three people who lived there. We spoke with five members of staff: three support workers; a senior support worker; and the provider’s Quality Assurance and Compliance Manager.

We looked at two people’s care records as well as other records relating to the management of the home, such as medicine administration records, internal audits and the local authority’s contract monitoring audit.

After the visit to the home, we contacted four people’s relatives, and several external professionals who met people regularly. Three people’s relatives and three professionals responded. We have included some of their comments in the report.

Updated 24 April 2019

About the service: Lotus House is a residential care home that provides personal care to seven adults all of whom have a learning disability.

People’s experience of using this service:

• People showed they were happy living at Lotus House, they felt safe and liked the staff team. Relatives liked the way the staff supported their family members. Staff were kind, caring and compassionate and knew each person well. They enjoyed working at the home and felt the registered manager gave them good, supportive leadership.

• The provider had systems in place to manage risks and keep people safe from avoidable harm. Staff gave people their medicines safely, followed good practice guidelines to help prevent the spread of infection and ensured health and safety was a priority.

• There were enough staff on duty to deliver support to each person in the way they wanted. Staff received training, supervision, guidance and support so that they could do their job well. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and encouraged independence wherever possible.

• People chose the meals they wanted and helped staff prepare them. Staff supported people as far as possible to eat healthily and made sure special diets were adhered to. External healthcare professionals helped people maintain their health.

• People made decisions in all aspects of their lives and were fully involved in planning what they wanted to do. They had opportunities to put forward their views on the running of the home. Staff understood the provider’s ethos and values and made sure that people’s lives were as comfortable and fulfilling as possible.

• The registered manager and staff team strove for continuous improvement, worked well with external professionals and ensured that people were part of their local community.

• The service had been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection we rated this service Good (report published on 10 May 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we might inspect sooner.