Archived: Ladysmith Care Home

Updated 18 November 2014

The inspection was led by an adult social care inspector who was accompanied by an expert by experience and a specialist professional advisor. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who used this type of service. The specialist professional advisor had experience of the care needs and welfare of people living with dementia.

Prior to the inspection the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR is a document completed by the provider about the performance of the service. The local authority safeguarding and quality teams and the local NHS were contacted before the inspection, to ask them for their views on the service and whether they had investigated any concerns. We also looked at the information we hold about the provider.

During our inspection we observed how the staff interacted with the people who used the service and their relatives. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI) in the lounge. SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experiences of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with nine people who used the service, four of their relatives and eight staff, these included care staff, a cook and a laundry assistant. We also spoke with the deputy manager and the registered manager.

We looked at a selection of care files which belonged to people who used the service, staff recruitment files and a selection of documentation pertaining to the management and running of the service.

This report was written during the testing phase of our new approach to regulating adult social care services. After this testing phase, inspection of consent to care and treatment, restraint, and practice under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) was moved from the key question ‘Is the service safe?’ to ‘Is the service effective?’

The ratings for this location were awarded in October 2014. They can be directly compared with any other service we have rated since then, including in relation to consent, restraint, and the MCA under the ‘Effective’ section. Our written findings in relation to these topics, however, can be read in the ‘Is the service safe’ sections of this report.’

Updated 18 November 2014

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Ladysmith Care Home is situated in Grimsby. The service is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 90 older people who may have dementia related conditions.

There was a registered manager in post at the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.

Staff were able to describe to us how they would keep people safe from harm and what they would do if they witnessed any abuse. They had also received training about different types of abuse and how to recognise and report these. The provider’s recruitment systems ensured, as far as was practicable, people who used the service were not exposed to staff who had been barred from working with vulnerable adults.

Staff understood the needs of the people who used the service and displayed compassion and sensitivity when undertaking caring tasks. Staff were appropriately trained and received updated training on a regular basis to ensure they had the right skills to meet people’s needs.

People told us they felt included in their care and they attended reviews and meetings about their care. Where people had been assessed as needing support with complex decisions the person who acted on their behalf had been identified and meetings had been held which included health care professionals, the person’s representative and the staff at the home. This ensured any decisions made on behalf of the person who used the service were in their best interest. Care was provided in an enabling environment and people were supported to be as independent as possible.

Staff were enabled to develop their skills and received support from the management team to further their education and gain further qualifications. The manager undertook regular audits of the care the service provided and made improvements where needed. People who used the service, relatives and staff were all encouraged to have a say about how the service was run. All suggestions, compliments and complaints were seen as productive and welcomed as a way of improving the service provided at the home.

The service was last inspected June 2013 and no issues were identified following that inspection.