Latest Inspection
This is the latest available inspection report for this service, carried out on 19th July 2010. CQC found this care home to be providing an Adequate service.
The inspector made no statutory requirements on the home as a result of this inspection
and there were no outstanding actions from the previous inspection report.
For extracts, read the latest CQC inspection for Lowfield House Care Home.
What the care home does well The home is very clean, tidy and well maintained and people have access to well kept and secure gardens. Specialist facilities are provided including a well developed sensory room with ceiling hoist. People living in the home have had input, where able, into their care plans. Care plans are very detailed and reflect peoples likes, dislikes and personal aspirations. The care plans have been made more user friendly and interesting through the use of pictures and photographs. People living in the home have had access to a varied activities programme which meets their needs and some have been on holiday this year. The manager has worked hard to improve all areas in the home and has met requirements set at previous inspections. What the care home could do better: The manager should complete regular recorded audits of incident records to try to establish if there are any factors/patterns that would influence care provision. They could manage the home more effectively in terms of covering rotas during staff sickness and in ensuring staff understand their roles and responsibilities on each shift. Random inspection report
Care homes for adults (18-65 years)
Name: Address: Lowfield House Care Home Cornwall Street Kirton-in-lindsey Gainsborough Lincolnshire DN21 4EH one star adequate service 03/06/2009 The quality rating for this care home is: The rating was made on: A quality rating is our assessment of how well a care home, agency or scheme is meeting the needs of the people who use it. We give a quality rating following a full review of the service. We call this review a ‘key’ inspection. This is a report of a random inspection of this care home. A random inspection is a short, focussed review of the service. Details of how to get other inspection reports for this care home, including the last key inspection report, can be found on the last page of this report. Lead inspector: Kate Emmerson Date: 1 9 0 7 2 0 1 0 Information about the care home
Name of care home: Address: Lowfield House Care Home Cornwall Street Kirton-in-lindsey Gainsborough Lincolnshire DN21 4EH 01652648835 F/P01652648835 lowfieldhouse@prime-life.co.uk info@prime-life.co.ukwww.prime-life.co.uk Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: Name of registered provider(s): Name of registered manager (if applicable) Mr Joseph William Veall Type of registration: Number of places registered: Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : Prime Life Ltd care home 21 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 0 0 learning disability physical disability Conditions of registration: 21 21 The maximum number of service users who can be accommodated is: 21 The registered person may provide the following category of service only: Care home with nursing - Code N To service users of the following gender: Either Whose primary care needs on admission to the home are within the following categories: Learning Disability - Code LD Physical Disability - Code PD Date of last inspection Brief description of the care home Prime Life Limited owns Lowfield House. The home is registered to provide care for 21 adults aged 18-65 who have a learning disability and additional physical and nursing
Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 2 of 9 1 4 1 2 2 0 0 9 Brief description of the care home needs. The home is situated in a residential area of Kirton-in-Lindsey and is close to local shops and amenities. It has a large private garden and a sensory garden. The home has 19 single bedrooms and one double bedroom; all bedrooms have a wash hand basin. There is a range of communal rooms and facilities including a large conservatory and a spa bath. The home employs nursing and care staff. A qualified nurse is on duty at all times. Information about the home and its service can be found in the statement of purpose and service user guide, both these documents are available from the acting manager of the home. A copy of the latest inspection report for the home is available in the reception area. Information given by the Deputy Manager on 25th June 2009 stated that fees charged range from £329.70 to £1795 pounds per week, including charges for additional hours. Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 3 of 9 What we found:
Two inspectors visited the home 19 July 2010, to look at the progress being made to address requirements made at the last key inspection visit in June 2009 and the last random inspection in December 2009 The manager informed us that all people living in the home now had care plans which had been completed on new formats. We examined three of these care plans and found them to be very comprehensive and through the good use of pictures and photographs more user friendly. The care plans were now personalised and clearly identified peoples likes and dislikes and preferred routines. They also gave insight into peoples life stories and their hopes and aspirations for the future and action plans had been developed to assist people to achieve their personal goals. Personal care requirements were well documented and were supported by risk assessments where required. Where people exhibited challenging behaviour detailed management plans were in place and incidents and possible causative factors were recorded. The manager was advised to complete regular recorded audits of these incident records to try to establish if there are any factors that would influence care provision. Health action plans were in place and contact with health professionals was recorded. A tour of the building was not made at this inspection although the areas seen were very clean and tidy and well maintained. At the last inspection some of the sash windows could not be opened due to being painted up, these were checked and were fully operational. An activity plan and records of the activities which people had participated in were seen. This evidenced that the provision of activities had improved since the last inspection. People living in the home had recently been involved in a French themed week and this had incorporated arts and craft, baking and language skills. One person said they had recently enjoyed a trip to the seaside. The manager explained that this had been part of a holiday arranged by the home to a hotel which had facilities for disabled people. Staff from the home had accompanied people on their holiday. Where people had profound disabilities the activities were focused on sensory stimulation. The records showed that these activities had been significantly improved since the last inspection. The home had a very well developed sensory room and a ceiling hoist had been provided since the last inspection to enable easier access this area. The care plans now provided information about peoples social interests which assists the staff to create individualised programmes of activities. There had been no changes to the staffing levels within the home. The staffing consisted of a nurse and six carers between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m, then a nurse and five carers between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. During the night there is one nurse and two carers. Discussions with the management and staff and examination of the staff rota and staffing notice issued by the company indicated that there was sufficient provision for people to be rostered on duty to meet peoples needs and provide the one to one support required by some people. However there had been a high level of sickness among the day carers
Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 4 of 9 in the home leading to a number of shifts where the home operated under the staffing levels indicated as necessary by the company. For example in between 1 June and 27 June 2010 there had only been five days when the home had had a full staff compliment as per the rota for all three shifts. As the home mostly runs with twelve hour shifts the impact of sickness is greater when cover can not be found. It is not company policy for the home to access additional staffing from an agency and staff said they can spend a considerable amount of time ringing other staff who are on their day off looking for cover. The management must review this issue and ensure that strategies are put in place to reduce the impact of staff sickness on the home. The manager was requested to provide us with weekly reports of shifts that are not covered via Regulation 37 reports until further notice so that we can monitor this situation. On the day of the inspection, the shift, although fully staffed as per the rota, was poorly managed and lead to people living in the home not receiving mid morning drinks until 12:40 and a delay in lunch provision. The person in charge of the shift was spoken with and an explanation was provided which indicated that experienced staff had been out of the home accompanying two people to appointments. This incident highlighted to management that some staff members needed greater leadership and they stated new processes would be put in place to ensure everyone understood their individual responsibilities at the start of every shift. The current manager, as the nurse on duty, had still not been provided with any supernumerary hours to assist him to complete management tasks. He had however put processes in place to assist him to meet his responsibilities for areas such as staff supervision and training. This had enabled him to make significant improvements in these areas. We were informed at the inspection that there was to be a management change and the new manager would be supernumerary. Examination of staff files and discussion with staff evidenced that staff supervision and staff training had improved since the last inspection. Training in the use of a specific medication, as required at the last inspection had not been provided, the manager stated that staff who were not nurses accompanying people outside the home would contact the emergancy services should this type of treatment be deemed necessary. It was agreed that this would be appropriate action. What the care home does well:
The home is very clean, tidy and well maintained and people have access to well kept and secure gardens. Specialist facilities are provided including a well developed sensory room with ceiling hoist. People living in the home have had input, where able, into their care plans. Care plans are very detailed and reflect peoples likes, dislikes and personal aspirations. The care plans have been made more user friendly and interesting through the use of pictures and photographs. People living in the home have had access to a varied activities programme which meets their needs and some have been on holiday this year. The manager has worked hard to improve all areas in the home and has met
Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 5 of 9 requirements set at previous inspections. What they could do better: If you want to know what action the person responsible for this care home is taking following this report, you can contact them using the details set out on page 2. Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 6 of 9 Are there any outstanding requirements from the last inspection? Yes £ No R Outstanding statutory requirements
These are requirements that were set at the previous inspection, but have still not been met. They say what the registered person had to do to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards.
No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 7 of 9 Requirements and recommendations from this inspection:
Immediate requirements: These are immediate requirements that were set on the day we visited this care home. The registered person had to meet these within 48 hours.
No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Statutory requirements These requirements set out what the registered person must do to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must do this within the timescales we have set.
No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Recommendations These recommendations are taken from the best practice described in the National Minimum Standards and the registered person(s) should consider them as a way of improving their service.
No Refer to Standard Good Practice Recommendations 1 9 The manager should regularly audit the incident records in detail to identify if there are any factors/patterns that may influence care provision. The manager should put strategies in place to ensure that staff have an understanding of their roles and responsibilities on each shift. This is to ensure that people living in the home recieve care in a timely manner. The management should put strategies in place for covering sick leave to ensure staffing levels can be maintained at all times. 2 31 3 33 Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 8 of 9 Reader Information
Document Purpose: Author: Audience: Further copies from: Inspection Report Care Quality Commission General Public 0870 240 7535 (telephone order line) Our duty to regulate social care services is set out in the Care Standards Act 2000. Copies of the National Minimum Standards –Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) can be found at www.dh.gov.uk or got from The Stationery Office (TSO) PO Box 29, St Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1GN. Tel: 0870 600 5522. Online ordering from the Stationery Office is also available: www.tso.co.uk/bookshop Helpline: Telephone: 03000 616161 Email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk Web: www.cqc.org.uk We want people to be able to access this information. If you would like a summary in a different format or language please contact our helpline or go to our website. © Care Quality Commission 2010 This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part in any format or medium for noncommercial purposes, provided that it is reproduced accurately and not used in a derogatory manner or in a misleading context. The source should be acknowledged, by showing the publication title and © Care Quality Commission 2010. Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 9 of 9 - Please note that this information is included on www.bestcarehome.co.uk under license from the regulator. Re-publishing this information is in breach of the terms of use of that website. Discrete codes and changes have been inserted throughout the textual data shown on the site that will provide incontrovertable proof of copying in the event this information is re-published on other websites. The policy of www.bestcarehome.co.uk is to use all legal avenues to pursue such offenders, including recovery of costs. You have been warned!
