Our inspection took place on 10 and 11 February 2016 and was unannounced. We last inspected the service on 18 November 2014. The service was rated as requires improvement after that inspection but there were no breaches of regulations.Lakeview is registered to provide care and accommodation up to 60 for older persons, some of whom may be living with dementia. There were 51 people living at the service when we carried out our inspection.
While the service had a registered manager, they were not working at the service at the time we carried out the inspection. There was an acting manager in place and the provider had recruited a new manager that was due to take over the registered manager post in the near future. 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.
People said they felt safe living at Lakeview although we saw some occasions where staff had assisted people to move unsafely. People told us there was enough staff to keep them safe, but some requests for assistance were occasionally delayed. Staff knew what the signs of abuse may be and how to raise concerns and to whom. People said they had their medicines when needed. We saw new staff were vetted to ensure they were safe to work at the service. We saw individual risks to people were identified by the service, and staff were mostly aware of these. There was however some scope to improve some people’s records to ensure that risks to people, and how they were to be minimised, were clear so staff had access to accurate information about people.
People’s rights were promoted, and their best interests considered. Most people were confident in staff that they saw as skilled and competent. People had a choice of, and enjoyed, the food and drinks that were available to them. People’s health care needs were promoted.
People said staff were kind, caring and respectful. People said staff treated them well. People’s privacy was promoted by staff, and they were able to make choices about the care and assistance staff provided to them. People’s independence was promoted.
People felt involved in their care. Staff were aware of people’s needs and preferences. Most people said they were able to pursue pastimes that they enjoyed and follow their chosen lifestyles. People said they were able to complain if they were dissatisfied and were confident any issues raised would be resolved.
People and staff felt able to approach management, who were said to listen to them, and what they had to say. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. While there was scope to make some improvements, these were identified by the provider or, when reported to the provider we found there was a quick and robust response. Staff felt well supported and enjoyed their work.