Z & M Care Limited - 4-10 Lyndhurst Road

Updated 11 September 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 checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

One inspector and an expert by experience undertook this inspection on 15 August 2019. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

4-10 Lyndhurst Road is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

4-10 Lyndhurst Road is registered to provide personal care and support for up to 37 people. The service provides long term and respite care. People who lived at the home had varied needs associated with old age and frailty, some people were living with varying stages of dementia or a learning disability or sensory impairment, some people had health needs such as diabetes or and mobility needs. At the time of our inspection there were 36 people living at the service.

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

A comprehensive inspection took place on 15 August 2019 and was unannounced, which meant the provider and staff were not aware that we were coming.

What we did before the inspection

Prior to the inspection the provider completed a Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed previous inspection reports and notifications received from the service before the inspection. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with ten people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the provider, operations manager, care manager, a senior care worker, three care workers, the activities coordinator and the chef. We spoke with a visiting chiropodist and a church visitor; both visiting professionals gave us permission to quote them in this report.

We observed the lunchtime experience and observed staff and people interacting during our visit.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and records for staff supervision and training. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection:

We spoke with a commissioner by email who gave us permission to share their feedback in this report.

Updated 11 September 2019

About the service

Z&M Care Limited, 4-10 Lyndhurst Road is a care home. It provides accommodation with personal care and support for up to 37 people, some of whom were living with varying stages of dementia, along with healthcare needs such as diabetes, sensory impairment or a learning disability. On the day of our inspection, there were 36 people living at the service.

The care home accommodates people in one adapted building, accommodation was arranged over three floors.

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

People told us they felt cared for by staff, a person told us, “They are all nice people who work here. We’re well looked after.” We observed friendly interactions between staff and people. Genuine relationships had developed between people and staff, for example one person regularly went to football matches to support their local team with two members of staff of their choosing. People were treated with respect. People’s privacy was upheld, and their dignity was maintained.

Care plans described people's needs and preferences and they were encouraged to be as independent as possible. Care plans guided staff about people’s needs and how to meet them, for example communication, emotional wellbeing and health conditions such as diabetes. People chose how to spend their day and they took part in activities in the service and were supported to access the community, a person told us, “It’s all freedom here. If you want to go out, they’ll take you.”

We observed people were relaxed and comfortable in the presence of staff. People continued to feel safe and there were enough staff to support them, a person told us, “They (staff) do everything in their power to keep you safe.” Recruitment processes continued to be robust, checks were carried out and references were collected to ensure new staff were safe to work within the care sector. Staff were knowledgeable and trained in safeguarding and what action they should take if they suspected abuse was taking place. Accidents and incidents were recorded, and steps continued to be taken to minimise the risk of similar events happening in the future. Risks associated with the environment and equipment were managed. Staff knew how to keep people safe in an emergency such as a fire.

People were encouraged to maintain relationships that were important to them. This was recorded within people’s care plans. Family and friends were able to visit freely without restriction.

Medicines continued to be managed safely and in accordance with current regulations and guidance. There were systems in place to ensure that medicines had been stored, administered, audited and reviewed appropriately.

Staff continued to receive essential training and there were opportunities for additional training specific to the needs of people such as. Staff continued to tell us they felt supported, records showed they had regular supervision and annual appraisals.

People had enough to eat and drink and continued to have choice in what they ate and drank. Staff accommodated any specific dietary requirements, such as for diabetes, or preferences such as being vegetarian or religious requirements were met. Health and social care were accessible for people and appointments were made for regular check-ups as needed. External professionals we spoke with gave positive feedback about how staff liaised with them.

Staff and people told us they were able to give their views on the service. Staff told us they felt supported. The provider undertook quality assurance reviews to measure and monitor the standard of the service and drive improvement.

People were being supported to make decisions in their best interests and to be included in making decisions affecting their care such as developing their care plan with staff. The staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). People were supported to access independent advocates. 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 and relatives knew how to make a complaint and people felt confident that their feedback was listened to and acted upon.

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 25 July 2016).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Z&M Care Limited, 4-10 Lyndhurst Road on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.