Lowmoor Carehome

Updated 24 April 2021

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.

This was a focused inspection and was prompted in part due to anonymous information of concern received by CQC related to safe recruitment and staff training, also management of accidents and incidents.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Lowmoor Care Home 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 both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager who was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. This means 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

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and any improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including a nurse, care staff, domestic, laundry, the manager and the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included eight people’s care records and multiple medicines records. We looked at three staff files in relation to their recruitment and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We requested further documents to support the evidence. We spoke with three relatives by telephone to ask about their experience of the service.

Updated 24 April 2021

About the service

Lowmoor Nursing Home is a nursing home providing personal and nursing care for up to 42 people. There were 37 people living at the home at the time of our inspection. The service provides support to older people with a range of support needs including complex health conditions and dementia.

The service is a large adapted property and managed as three units each with its own lounge and dining facilities.

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

Risks associated with people’s care and support and the environment were monitored and managed. There was a new manager in post who had begun to make improvements to the way the service audited different areas within the home. Medicines were managed safely, and the manager had implemented effective auditing processes for different aspects of the service.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and safe recruitment practices were followed.

The home was clean throughout and domestic staff knew the importance of regular cleaning of touch points.

People were supported with their health needs and had access to healthcare services. People were supported by staff who had the training and support required to provide effective care.

People were supported well by staff who cared for them and treated them with dignity and respect. Family members spoke highly of the staff team and felt people were well looked after and kept safe.

The manager had started to make improvements to systems and processes. We discussed various aspects of improvement and the manager told us how they were going to work to make the improvements required.

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 13 November 2019).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staff recruitment and training, also management and monitoring of accidents and incidents. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

The overall rating for this service is Good