Laburnum Lodge

Updated 24 November 2020

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place. As part of CQC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic we are conducting a review of infection control and prevention measures in care homes.

The service had been identified for use by the Local Authority as a designated care setting in response to the Winter Plan for people discharged from hospital with a positive Covid-19 status. The inspection was to ensure that the service was compliant with infection control and prevention measures.

This inspection took place on 3 November 2020 and was announced.

Updated 24 November 2020

Laburnum Lodge is situated in the Breightmet area of Bolton. The service is owned by Bolton Council and is close to local amenities and is on a local bus route. The service provides short stay intermediate care and support for 32 people. The aim of the service is to help people to return to their own home or move in to other care settings. The care is provided 24 hours a day by local authority staff with NHS staff working daytime hours only. The following services that are involved daily in providing intermediate care includes: Nursing staff, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, Pharmacy support, social care staff, social workers and a catering and domestic team.

Laburnum Lodge is registered as 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.

This inspection took place on 14 February 2018 and was unannounced. The last inspection was carried out on 17 November 2015 and was rated as ‘Good’.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager and the deputy manager facilitated the inspection.

There were sufficient staff on duty on the day of the inspection. We saw from rotas that the service responded to people's dependency levels to ensure the correct number of staff were deployed on each shift.

The service had a robust recruitment process and the induction programme was comprehensive. Training for staff was on-going.

Safeguarding policies and procedures were followed appropriately and staff were aware of these.

Health and safety measures were in place and equipment was maintained and tested regularly.

The service had an appropriate medicines policy in place. There were good systems in place for and medication procedures were followed by staff. However during the inspection the manager took immediate action to remedy the minor shortfalls we found.

Care plans included a range of health and personal information and were person centred. Appropriate risk assessments were held within the care plans. Staff were aware of how to deal with incidents and accidents.

Nutritional and hydration needs were catered for and mealtimes were relaxed and well managed by the service.

The service was working within the legal requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

We observed interactions between staff and people who used the service and saw that these were friendly and respectful.

The service endeavoured to work in an inclusive way, ensuring equality and diversity for everyone.

There was a range of activities on offer and people were given choices in the course of their daily lives.

Any complaints were dealt with appropriately and responded to. The service had received a number of compliments from people who had used the service and their relatives.

Staff and people who used the service described the management as approachable.

Systems were in place to assess and monitor the quality of service and the care delivered. Audits were undertaken and any issues identified and actioned within a given timescales.

Visiting times were flexible, however friends and relatives were asked try and avoid meal times so people could dine without disruption.