About the service Laburnum Grove is a housing with care scheme. People live on site in their own flats and have a tenancy agreement with a housing provider. Norse Care provides care and support over a twenty-four-hour period. There are 30 flats within the scheme at Laburnum Grove.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection, 25 people were receiving personal care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The people and relatives we spoke with were extremely happy and complimentary about the quality of care provided by the management and staff at Laburnum Grove. One person had recently fed back to the service how loved and special they were made to feel by the staff. A relative told us, “It has changed my family member’s world, being at Laburnum Grove.” Without exception, everyone we spoke with including people, relatives, staff and external professionals said they would recommend the service to others.
There was very strong leadership in place. The registered manager was passionate in their drive to ensure both the staff and people who used the service were well cared for and their wellbeing enhanced. They empowered staff to be creative when doing their job, which in turn gave staff a sense of pride working at Laburnum Grove. This made them feel happy and valued which impacted on people’s lives. Staff had no hesitation in going the extra mile to provide people with comfort and compassion when needed.
There was a strong team of staff at Laburnum Grove who demonstrated a culture of putting people first in everything they did. This was evident from the feedback we received from both people and relatives during this inspection. External professionals also commented on how well the service worked with them, to ensure people received a high standard of care.
The registered manager and staff were innovative and worked in collaboration with people using the service. Examples of this included the introduction of support groups for people living with mental health conditions or dementia. Another support group had been set up to help people keep themselves safe. These were open to the wider community, relatives and staff to provide them with knowledge and a sense of social engagement.
The registered manager and staff had taken time to get to know people well. This enabled them to provide people with care in a way they wanted to receive it. People were supported to participate in events that supported their hobbies, interests and independence, which enhanced their wellbeing.
The registered manager and staff were strong advocates for people, particularly as they approached the end of their life. This ensured as much as possible, people’ individual wishes were respected.
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. Risks to people’s safety had been assessed and managed well but if they wanted to take informed risks, the staff respected this. Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse.
There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and people received their medicines when they needed them. The staff were well trained and knowledgeable. They received regular supervision and support to keep their skill up to date and their care practice safe. Staff were vigilant of people’s wellbeing and were quick to alert the relevant professionals to ensure people received the necessary support with their health.
Good governance systems were in place to monitor the quality of care provided. The registered manager was keen to continuously improve people’s experience of care. When things had gone wrong, lessons had been learnt and steps taken to reduce the risk of the error from happening again.
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 June 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.