Lavender Court Care Home

Updated 24 September 2022

Inspection team

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 was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Lavender Court is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and we looked at both during this inspection.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection the manager had submitted an application to register with the commission.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We notified the manager 24 hours before due to the inspection being undertaken outside normal working hours. We needed to be sure essential staff would be available and there was full access to records.

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. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the service location on 3 September 2022. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We spoke with seven members of staff including two directors, the manager and deputy manager. We spoke with three relatives and two people living at the service.

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

Updated 24 September 2022

About the service

Lavender Court is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 36 people. The service provides support to people requiring care and assistance. Some people were living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 18 people using the service.

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

There were enough staff to meet people's needs and ensure their safety. Appropriate recruitment procedures ensured prospective staff were suitable to work in the service.

Staff told us that they had received the training they needed to meet people’s needs safely and effectively. The training matrix was overseen by an administrator and senior staff. This ensured all staff received the training and updates needed to provide safe consistent care.

Staff were supported in their roles through a plan of supervision. Staff told us they felt supported by senior staff and the manager.

There was equipment available to support staff in providing safe care and assistance. Health and safety checks of the environment and equipment were in place.

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.

Safeguarding processes were in place to help safeguard people from abuse. Risks associated with people's care had been assessed and guidance was in place for staff to follow. Medicines were safely managed.

There were processes in place to prevent and control infection at the service. Additional training and systems had been adopted through the COVID-19 pandemic. There were additional cleaning and safe visiting precautions.

Governance systems had been reviewed. Changes made to the management structure ensured effective oversight of the service. The service had clear and effective governance systems in place.

The management team maintained oversight of complaints, accidents and incidents and safeguarding concerns. The management team engaged well with health and social care professionals.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was good published 07 July 2021.

Why we inspected

This 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.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.