Lyndhurst Residential Care Home

Updated 15 December 2021

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.

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 one inspector.

Service and service type

Lyndhurst Residential Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

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 checked the information that we held about the service. This included statutory notifications sent to us by the provider about incidents and events that had occurred at the service. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We also gathered feedback about the service from the local authority. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with six people who lived at the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, carers and other staff. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 15 December 2021

About the service

Lyndhurst Residential Care Home is a residential care home registered to provide personal care and accommodation for up to 20 people aged 65 and over. There were 17 people living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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

Risks associated with people’s care were assessed and people’s care plans gave staff the basic information needed to care for them safely. However, the level of detail and robustness of some of these records required improvement. The environment both internally and externally was generally safe and well-maintained. A wide-ranging schedule of improvement works had started at the home since our last inspection. Some areas of the home still required redecoration and/or upgrading, and we identified some minor repair works which the provider had not yet identified or addressed.

The effectiveness and organisation of quality assurance processes at the home had notably improved since our last inspection. However, some of the issues we identified during this inspection still had not been identified or addressed by the provider’s own quality processes. Therefore, the provider requires further time to fully embed, sustain and develop the improvements made in this area.

People told us there were enough staff at the home. One person commented, “There’s enough staff, people never wait long for help. The staff are on the spot.” Staff were visible around the home throughout our inspection and any call bells were answered promptly. Staff were safely recruited, ensuring new staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults.

People living at the home were safeguarded from the risk of abuse. People said they felt safe living at the home. One person said, “I’m safe and happy here. I get on with the staff, they are friendly and kind.” Staff had received safeguarding training and understood their role in recognising and reporting safeguarding concerns.

The home was clean and hygienic. Staff followed the relevant guidance and best practice in relation to infection prevention and control. The home had a COVID-19 testing programme in place for people living at the home and staff. Staff and people living at the home had been supported to access COVID-19 vaccinations.

There was a kind and caring culture amongst staff at the home. Staff interacted with people with kindness and care throughout the day. People appeared content and comfortable in their surroundings. People living at the home spoke positively about the staff. One person said, “All the staff are kind. I know the staff, as we chat and they get to know us and have a laugh.”

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 requires improvement (published 28 November 2021).

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 received concerns in relation to the safety, maintenance and cleanliness of the environment. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has remained requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection. Whilst the provider had made improvements since our last inspection, we have found evidence that the provider needs to make further improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from the concerns received. Please see the safe section of this full report.

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