Lavender House

Updated 4 November 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Lavender House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Lavender House is a care home without] nursing care. Care Quality Commission [CQC] regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed all the information we had received about the service since their last inspection and used it to plan this inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 8 people about their experiences of living at the care home, and various members of staff who worked there including, the registered manager, the deputy manager and 2 support workers. We also observed in communal areas the interactions between people living and working in the care home.

In addition, we reviewed a range of records. This included 6 people’s care plans, 2 staff files in relation to their recruitment and training, and multiple medicines records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

After our site visit we received email feedback about the care home from 9 community mental health, medical and social care professionals about their experiences of working with this service.

We also continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We requested additional evidence to be sent to us after our inspection including staff rosters, staff training and quality monitoring audits conducted by the provider. We received this information as requested, which was used as part of our inspection.

Updated 4 November 2023

About the service

Lavender House is a residential care home providing personal care and support to up to 18 people. The service provides support to people with mental health care needs. At the time of our inspection there were 18 people using the service who were all accommodated in 1 adapted building.

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

At our last inspection we found the provider had not always operated their quality monitoring systems effectively, which we discussed with the provider at that time. At this inspection we found the provider had taken enough appropriate action to improve how their governance systems were managed.

People living in the care home and various community mental health, medical and social care professionals we contacted all spoke positively about Lavender House. A person told us, “I am very happy living here. The managers and staff are all lovely and really do know how to take care me, especially when I'm feeling emotionally unwell.” A community health care professional added, “Lavender House is a very good service and people living there receive good care and support. They [staff] work very well with them and are always calm, caring, and competent.”

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.

The service was adequately staffed by people whose suitability and fitness to work at the care home had been thoroughly assessed. People were kept safe and were confident any concerns they raised would be listened to. Staff understood how to safeguard people. People were cared for and supported by staff who knew how to manage risks they might face. The premises was kept clean and staff followed current best practice guidelines regarding the prevention and control of infection including, those associated with COVID-19. Medicines systems were well-organised, and people received their prescribed medicines as and when they should.

People living in the care home, community mental health and social care professionals, and staff working there were all complimentary about the way the service was managed, and how approachable the managers were. The provider promoted an open and inclusive culture which sought the views of people living at the care home, their relatives, community care professionals and staff. The provider worked in close partnership with various community mental health and social care professionals and agencies to plan and deliver people's packages of care and support.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was good overall (published 23 December 2017), but the key question well-led was rated requires improvement. This was because at our last inspection we found the provider did not always operate their established quality monitoring systems effectively, which we discussed with them at the time.

At this inspection we found the provider had taken the appropriate action they said they would at their last inspection and had significantly improved how they operated their governance systems.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We also 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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Lavender House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect. If we receive any concerning information, we may inspect sooner.