Lavender Court

Updated 2 November 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors, a member of the Care Quality Commission’s medicines team and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Lavender Court is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Lavender Court is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at the information we had received from, and about, the care home since the last inspection.

We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the home.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). 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 information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 30 March 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 29 people living at the home and 12 visitors. We also spoke with 15 members of staff. The registered manager and representatives from the provider were available throughout the inspection.

We spent time observing care in communal areas and looked at a variety of records. Records seen included, two staff recruitment files, seven care and support plans, a sample of medication administration records, minutes of staff meetings and records of quality assurance audits.

Updated 2 November 2022

About the service

Lavender Court is a care home. It is registered to provide accommodation and nursing care to up to 85 people. Lavender Court specialises in the care of older people including people living with dementia.

The home was divided into four distinct areas. Orchid provided personal care to people, Poppies cared for people with nursing needs and Sunflower cared for people living with dementia. The fourth area, Rose, provided rehabilitation in partnership with the NHS, for people leaving hospital.

At the time of our inspection there were 78 people using the service.

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

People were generally happy with the care and support they received. However, a number of people raised concerns about the high numbers of agency staff at the home. Some people told us they did not always know staff names and agency staff were not always clear about their needs. Improvements were needed to make sure people knew who staff were and felt comfortable with them.

The registered manager and provider were committed to recruiting more permanent staff but at the time of the inspection were relying on agency staff to keep people safe.

We have recommended that the provider keeps the deployment of agency staff under review.

People’s medicines were not always managed safely, and improvements were needed.

We have recommended that the provider puts further checks in place for some medicine management.

There was a friendly relaxed atmosphere and people were able to have personal and professional visitors at any-time. People said they felt safe at the home despite the staffing issues. One person told us, “The staff make you feel safe.” Another person commented, “No one has been unkind to me since I have been here.”

Staff were following good infection prevention and control practices which helped to minimise risks to people.

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 said they were able to make choices about their day to day lives. We observed, people who were able, followed their own routines.

People had care plans which identified their physical needs and also gave some information about their likes and dislikes. The provider was in the process of changing the care plan system. The registered manager told us they hoped the new system would further enhance person-centred care.

People had access to a range of organised activities and the home had good links with local groups such as church groups and schools.

People lived in a home where the registered manager and provider monitored the quality of care provided and constantly looked at ways to make improvements. The registered manager listened and acted on feedback received.

Most people were happy with the support they received. One person said, “It is unbelievably better than I expected. Staff are excellent – they do what you would like them to do.” Another person commented, “Quite happy with everything. Nowhere is perfect but this is as close as you could get.”

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 9 April 2018) A targeted inspection looking at infection prevention and control practices was carried out in August 2020 and no concerns were identified.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We received concerns in relation to cleanliness, staffing, management and general standards of care. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, responsive and well-led only.

We found no evidence that people were at risk of significant harm from the concerns raised but have identified some areas for improvement. Please see the Safe section of this full report.

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has not changed from Good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Lavender Court on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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