The Laurels and Pine Lodge

Updated 2 March 2022

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.

We received information of concern about infection prevention and control measures at this service. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 19 January 2022 and was unannounced.

Updated 2 March 2022

About the service

The Laurels and Pine Lodge is a residential care home and during our inspection was providing personal care to 43 older people, some living with a dementia. The service is registered to accommodate up to 55 older people. Accommodation is provided across two wings of a converted building, each of which have separate adapted facilities. Communal lounges and dining facilities were provided in each wing of the premises.

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

The provider had undertaken some improvements to the premises which included installing three wet rooms and installing some new flooring. However, during our inspection we highlighted further areas that needed improving, in order to reduce the risks to people’s health and safety. These included improvements to the main driveway and replacement of worn vinyl flooring and stained and worn carpets. Risk assessments had been completed to mitigate the risks. The newly recruited manager had raised these concerns with the provider when they were appointed in February 2021 but work had not yet been scheduled.

We have made a recommendation to improve the driveway and internal flooring.

There was a calm, welcoming and friendly atmosphere at The Laurels and Pine Lodge. Staff knew people well and were attentive to their needs. Potential risks to people’s health and welfare had been assessed and regularly reviewed. Risk assessments were detailed and covered areas including, falls, skin damage, nutrition and hydration and evacuating people in an emergency situation.

There was a system in place to review people's nutrition and hydration, this was in the early stages and improvements were taking place. We have made a recommendation for the service to maintain its efforts to improve people’s nutrition and hydration, to ensure people receive high quality person-centred care.

Relatives and people told us they felt safe living at The Laurels and Pine Lodge and staff talked knowledgably about the system for reporting any potential signs of abuse.

There was an ongoing programme of staff recruitment. When required consistent agency staff were used to ensure staffing levels were maintained at the correct level to ensure people were cared for safely. Staff told us they enjoyed working at the home and felt well supported at all times.

People’s medicines were managed safely, stored securely and administered by trained staff. People received assistance to take their medicines as prescribed.

People, staff and visitors to The Laurels and Pine Lodge were protected from risks of infection as policies and staff practices were reflective of current best practice guidance. Staff had access to personal protective equipment (PPE), and the home was active in carrying out whole home testing in response to the coronavirus health risk.

People received person centred care which suited their individual health needs and reflected their wishes and choices. People were cared for safely whilst maintaining and promoting their independence and wellbeing.

The COVID-19 pandemic had restricted the amount of activities people could enjoy due to independent entertainers not being able to visit the home. However, additional activities had been run from the home which included a range of hobbies and one to one activities for people to reduce the risk of people becoming socially isolated at this difficult time. An activity member of staff was in the process of being recruited and would be commencing their employment at the home in June.

Staff supported people to communicate in ways they preferred. People were included and involved in decisions about their care, support and day to day lives.

The provider had a clear complaints policy and information explaining how to complain was on display around the premises. Relatives felt any concerns would be listened to, although they stated they had not yet had to complain.

People’s end of life wishes were known and respected, these included any spiritual or cultural preferences. Families were given full support through those difficult times. A member of staff told us, “We are really good at end of life care and providing support to all, we do that really, really well.”

There was an effective governance system that had recently been put in place. There were a variety of action plans, audits, policies, spot checks, systems and procedures to monitor the quality and safety of the service. These ensured a culture of continuous improvement and learning took place and highlighted any potential shortfalls to improve the safety and quality of care people received.

Staff felt well supported and spoke positively of the manager and management team. Staff were committed and motivated to delivering quality person-centred care to people.

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 (published 31 October 2018).

Why we inspected

We received concerns about people’s care in relation to their skin integrity, nutrition and concerns around some aspects of the safety of the premises. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, responsive and well-led only.

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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for this service is good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports ‘ link for The Laurels and Pine Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.