Heartlands Care Limited t/a Lanrick House

Updated 21 April 2021

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.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Heartlands Care Limited t/a Lanrick House 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.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

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. The local authority did not share any feedback with us. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We also asked Healthwatch if they had any information to share. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. They did not have any feedback to share. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service. We were able to speak with two relatives on the day of our visit. We spoke with five members of staff including senior carers, care assistants and domestic staff. In addition to this, we also spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager, administrator and the national operations director of the provider. We also spoke with a visiting health professional. We made observations in communal areas to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits and accident and incident records were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found. We looked at policies and procedures, training records and quality assurance records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment.

We also spoke with three further relatives over the phone to gain their views as we were unable to speak with them during our site visit.

Updated 21 April 2021

About the service

Heartlands Care Limited t/a Lanrick House is a care home providing personal care. We were in discussions with the provider about the number of people they were registered to accommodate in Heartlands Care Limited t/a Lanrick House. They were registered for up 32 people. At the time of the inspection there were 20 people living there. The home supported older people, some of the people were living with dementia and/or physical disabilities.

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

People were supported to partake in a range of activities and events to support their involvement in the community life of the home. Activities were varied and considered individual preferences, as well as group events. Relatives felt a part of this, even though they were not always able to enter the home at the current time. People had been innovatively supported to keep in touch with their relatives. People were involved in their care and staff were supported to get to know people. People and relatives were able to build positive relationships with staff to ensure they were supported in a personalised way.

People were supported to access information in a way that suited them. People could discuss their end of life wishes if they chose to. Complaints were taken seriously, investigated and responded to.

People felt safe in the home and measures were in place to assess and mitigate risk. People were protected from abuse and concerns were reported when necessary. People were protected from cross infection and government guidance in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic was being followed. People received their medicines as prescribed. Lessons were learned when things had gone wrong. There were enough staff to support people and they were recruited safely.

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. People were offered choices, including in relation to food and drink which people enjoyed. People had access to a range of health professionals when needed and plans were in place for their health conditions. Staff received training to be effective in their role and felt supported. The home was adapted and suitable for the needs of people living there.

There was a positive culture in the home. People, relatives and staff felt able to approach the registered manager and management team. There were quality assurance systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service delivered. The provider also carried out checks and the registered manager felt supported by them. The registered manager was clear about the need for duty of candour and had followed this. The previous rating was being displayed and notifications were submitted as required.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was good overall but requires improvement in well-led (published 15 June 2017). The service has remained rated as good overall. Well-led has improved to good and responsive had improved to outstanding.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. 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.

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.