Laurel Villas Limited

Updated 11 May 2022

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Laurel Villas 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection.

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 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 the registered manager and deputy manager. We spoke with four people who lived in the home. We used a questionnaire to seek the views of five members of staff which included care staff, kitchen staff and domestic staff and we spoke with a further two members of care staff. We spoke with the relatives of five people on the telephone over the following days. We observed one mealtime. We toured the building and looked at communal rooms, bathroom facilities and some bedrooms.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people's care records and several people's medicine records, we checked the maintenance and fire safety records. We looked at three staff recruitment files and information relating to staff training and support. We looked at auditing and quality review records and the homes policies and procedures.

Updated 11 May 2022

About the service

Laurel Villas provides personal care for up to 24 older people in the Ashton area of Preston. The home is arranged over two floors with lift access. Accommodation is provided in single rooms with ensuite facilities. There was a variety of well-furnished communal areas for people to socialise in or enjoy some quiet time. The gardens were large and well maintained, one of the people living in the home assisted in the garden. At the time of inspection there were 19 people living in the home.

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

People received safe care from staff who were committed to providing high-quality care. Staff had received training and their competencies had been checked, which helped ensure care quality was maintained.

People living in the home, their relations and staff working in the home praised the caring and approachable nature of the registered manager. People said they were happy living or working in the home.

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 registered manager did not have consistent oversight of some aspects of the service. Auditing remained irregular and some opportunities to identify hazards had been missed. These had been addressed during the inspection.

Rating at the last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement, published 24 April 2020. At our last inspection we recommended that the provider made improvements in relation to; the safe management of medicines, staff recruitment and good governance. At this inspection we found improvements had been made in relation to medicines management and recruitment. However, further improvement was needed in relation to good governance.

Why we inspected

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

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.

We undertook this inspection at the same time as the Care Quality Commission (CQC), inspected a range of urgent and emergency care services in Lancashire. To understand the experience of social care providers’ and people who use social care services, we asked a range of questions in relation to accessing urgent and emergency care. The responses we received have been used to inform and support system wide feedback.

Follow up

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.