Lavanda Villa

Updated 17 November 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.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors.

Service and service type

Lavanda Villa 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. Lavanda Villa 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 our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

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 and professionals who work with the service.

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 all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people using the service and had discussions with 3 relatives on the telephone to gain their views. One person was unable to talk with us and we saw staff used different ways to communicate including signs, pictures, gestures, vocalisations and body language. We spent time with people and observed the interactions between each other and with staff as part of our inspection visit.

We spoke with 4 staff members that included the division manager, the registered manager, a senior support worker and a support worker. We received email feedback from 2 health professionals about the care and support people received.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 people's care records and 4 medication records. We looked at 2 staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance audits, training records, key policies and meeting minutes were reviewed.

Updated 17 November 2023

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

About the service

Lavanda Villa is a residential care home specialising in autism care and was providing personal care and support to 4 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 4 people.

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

Right Support

The service gave people care and support in a safe, clean, well equipped, well-furnished, and well-maintained environment that met their sensory and physical needs. Staff supported people to access health and social care support, which included a regular review of their prescribed medicines. Staff supported people with their medicines safely. Positive relationships had developed with local health care providers, who provided timely support, considering people’s emotional and sensory needs for planned appointments.

The service encouraged people to be involved fully in discussions about their care and support, holding a weekly meeting for people to decide on activities and meals. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests and hobbies.

Right Care

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff understood and responded to people’s individual needs. Staff received training on how recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. Staff completed specialised training on learning disabilities and autism.

Some people communicated non-verbally, for example through body language, sounds, pictures and symbols. They could interact with staff and others involved in their care and support because staff had the necessary skills to understand them. Staff, relatives, and people worked together to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

Right culture

Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. People and those important to them were involved in planning their care. The service evaluated the quality of support provided to people, involving the person, their families, and other professionals as appropriate. The service valued and acted upon people’s views.

People appeared relaxed within their home and in the presence of staff. We observed them being supported to make decisions about their day that included meals, activities, and health needs. 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.

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 11 August 2018)

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective, and well-led.

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 remained 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 Lavanda Villa 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.