Lynwood Care Centre

Updated 16 May 2018

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Our inspection took place on 19 March 2018 and was unannounced.

Our inspection was completed by one adult social care inspector, a specialist advisor and an Expert by Experience. Our inspector and specialist advisor were registered nurses. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

We reviewed information we already held about the service. This included notifications we had received. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We also requested information from relatives, local authorities, clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and other health or social care professionals. We checked records held by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the local fire inspectorate.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We spoke with 10 people who used the service and received feedback from five relatives.

We spoke with the provider’s nominated individual, registered manager and two heads of care. We also spoke with four registered nurses and six care workers about people’s care. We also spoke with the chef and two cleaners. We received written feedback from two social work practitioners and the local authority safeguarding team.

We looked at seven people’s care records, three staff personnel files, the medicines administration charts and other records about the management of the service. After the inspection, we asked the registered manager to send us further documentation and we received and reviewed this information. This evidence was included as part of our inspection.

Updated 16 May 2018

Our inspection took place on 19 March 2018 and was unannounced.

Lynwood Care Centre is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. We regulate both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Lynwood Care Centre is part of a larger village, which includes the care home, but also communal facilities such as a pool, healthcare professionals, a shop, a cafe, a restaurant, a care at home service and independent living apartments.

The service can provide care and treatment for up to 102 adults. At the time of our inspection, the service accommodated 83 people across seven separate units, each of which had separate adapted facilities. Some of the units specialised in providing care to people living with dementia. One of the units was not in use. This was because the provider planned to commence rehabilitation services in the unit. The provider informed us about this using a notification form after our inspection. We added the service type to the location’s registration.

The provider is required to have a registered manager as part of their conditions of registration. 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. At the time of our inspection, there was a registered manager in post.

At our last inspection on 15 December and 17 December 2015 we rated the service “good”. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of “good” and there was no information from our inspection or ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Why the service is rated good:

We found people were protected against abuse or neglect. There were personalised risk assessments tailored to people’s individual needs. Sufficient staff were deployed to provide support to the person and ensure their safety. Medicines were safely managed. The premises were clean and tidy.

The service was compliant with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and associated codes of practice. People were assisted to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff received appropriate induction, training, supervision and support. This ensured their knowledge, skills and experience were suitable. People’s care preferences, likes and dislikes were assessed, recorded and respected. Access to other community healthcare professionals ensured the person could maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Staff had developed compassionate relationships with people who used the service and their relatives. There was complimentary feedback from people, relatives and other healthcare professionals about staff and the service. People’s privacy was respected and they received dignified support from staff.

The service provided person-centred care to most people. We made a recommendation about the care provided to people who lived with dementia. People’s care plans were detailed and contained information on how staff could provide appropriate support. There was a satisfactory complaints system in place. The person had a say in how their care was planned and delivered. People and relatives were included in care planning and reviews.

The service was well-led. This had improved since our last inspection. There was a positive workplace culture and staff felt that management listened to what they had to say. The management had improved methods to measure the safety and quality of care. The service had developed strong relationships with community stakeholders. We made a recommendation about duty of candour training for the management team.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.