Lucy Glyn Residential

Updated 7 April 2020

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

Three inspectors carried out this inspection. One of these inspectors was a pharmacist.

Service and service type

Lucy Glyn Residential 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. Lucy Glyn Residential also provides personal care to people living in their own homes. For these people, CQC regulates the personal care and support only.

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 they registered with us. This included notifications of important issues such as serious injuries and allegations of abuse. We sought feedback from the local authority and health professionals who work with the service such as Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited five people and spoke with four relatives to talk about their experience of the care provided. We also received feedback from one relative via email. We spoke with eight members of staff including a deputy manager, location manager, team leaders and support workers. We also spoke with the registered manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider and was also the director.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were also reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 7 April 2020

About the service

Lucy Glyn Residential is a residential care home that also provides support to people living in their own home. People receiving support from this service have a diagnosis of a learning disability or an autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting six people within the residential care home and seven people who were living in their own homes.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

People told us they felt safe because they were supported by competent and caring staff. Staff understood their responsibilities to keep people safe from the risk of abuse and systems supported this practice.

Staff continued to be recruited safely and people told us there were enough staff. Records showed people received the amount of support they should which was delivered by a consistent staff team.

Risks to people’s health and wellbeing had been identified, assessed and monitored. Staff received specialised training to help them identify and reduce risks associated with people’s healthcare needs. Systems and processes protected people from the risk of infection and staff followed good infection control practices.

People received their medicines as prescribed and medicines were managed safely. Improvements were recommended to the recording of some medicines and immediate action was taken to address these issues during our inspection.

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.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

There was an open culture where staff were comfortable to speak up. People, relatives and staff told us the service was well managed and that managers were visible, approachable and listened. Systems and processes regularly checked the quality of the service provided. This included checks on the safety of the environment and of the quality of care people received. The provider worked in partnership with other organisations to provide the best support for people.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 23 March 2019).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted by a specific allegation of unsafe medicines management. This incident is subject to a wider investigation. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. This inspection did not examine the circumstances of this specific incident but looked at wider medicines practices to ensure they were safe.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern and based on the findings at this inspection, the overall rating has not changed.

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

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.