Langdales

Updated 25 February 2023

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

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Langdales is a care home without 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 the inspection there was no registered manager in post, a new manager had been in post for four months and was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced on the first day and announced on the second day.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. This included information we had received from the public and notifications sent to us by the provider. We sought feedback from the local authority. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with 7 people who used the service about their experience of the care provided and 2 relatives. We spoke with 7 members of staff including the nominated individual, manager, care workers, domestic staff and the laundry person. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We also spoke with an external fire safety consultant and an external health professional.

We reviewed 2 staff recruitment records and 6 care records. We sampled different sections of these care records. We also reviewed documentation relevant to the management of the service.

Updated 25 February 2023

About the service

Langdales is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 25 people. The service provides support to older people who may be living with dementia. Accommodation is set over two floors with a lift to the first floor, At the time of our inspection there were 17 people using the service.

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

People told us they felt safe and they were supported by staff who helped them quickly if they needed this. Checks were completed to help ensure prospective staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Risk assessments were carried out to help minimise the risk of avoidable harm and staff knew the help and support people needed. Medicines were managed 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.

Audits and checks were in place to help drive improvement and identify success. However, these had not been fully implemented at the time of the inspection. The manager had started to implement and document the audits carried out and was supported by the management team to do this. Staff told us morale was high and the service had improved. They were confident the improvements would continue and spoke about how good teamwork would help them achieve this. People told us they could speak with the manager and the home was well organised.

Rating at last inspection and update: The last rating for this service was requires improvement (14 February 2022) and there was a breach of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced focused inspection of this service on 14 February 2022. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve good governance. 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.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements. 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 changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Langdales 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.