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Care Services

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Lady Spencer House, Houghton Regis.

Lady Spencer House in Houghton Regis is a Residential home specialising in the provision of services relating to accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care, caring for adults over 65 yrs and dementia. The last inspection date here was 26th June 2019

Lady Spencer House is managed by Lady Spencer House Ltd.

Contact Details:

    Address:
      Lady Spencer House
      52 High Street
      Houghton Regis
      LU5 5BJ
      United Kingdom
    Telephone:
      0

Ratings:

For a guide to the ratings, click here.

Safe: Good
Effective: Good
Caring: Good
Responsive: Good
Well-Led: Good
Overall: Good

Further Details:

Important Dates:

    Last Inspection 2019-06-26
    Last Published 2016-07-16

Local Authority:

    Central Bedfordshire

Link to this page:

    HTML   BBCode

Inspection Reports:

Click the title bar on any of the report introductions below to read the full entry. If there is a PDF icon, click it to download the full report.

30th June 2016 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

Lady Spencer House provides accommodation and personal care for up to 24 people who may be living with dementia and have frail elderly care needs. The service is situated in a residential area of Houghton Regis, near Luton. At the time of our inspection the service was providing support to 23 people, with a range of needs.

We originally carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 23 March 2015 and rated it 'Good'. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Lady Spencer House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

We carried out our second unannounced comprehensive inspection on 30 June 2016. Prior to this inspection we had received concerns in relation to the care people were receiving and the management of the service. In addition, concerns had been raised about the nutritional status of the meals provided meaning that people were not always supported to maintain an adequate dietary intake. We therefore needed to ensure that people's care was being delivered in line with the fundamental standards.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People felt safe and trusted in staff because of the care and support they received. Staff were knowledgeable about the risks of abuse and understood how to respond appropriately to any safeguarding concerns, to further ensure people’s safety and welfare. Risk to people and the environment had been assessed and identified hazards which people may face. They were user friendly and provided guidance for staff to manage any risk of harm, whilst empowering people to be as independent as possible.

People were cared for by sufficient numbers of staff who had been recruited into their roles safely. This meant that people were provided with consistent levels of care by staff who knew them well. Staff had undergone appropriate checks before commencing their employment to ensure they were safe to work with people.

Suitable arrangements were in place for the safe administration and management of medicines.

Staff received a robust induction when they commenced work at the service which provided them with the skills and knowledge they required to support the people they cared for. This was enhanced by on-going refresher training and additional training which further helped to develop staff skills. Staff received regular supervision and support to identify areas for self-development and to ensure they remained competent to meet people’s needs in the best possible way.

The service had systems in place to ensure the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) were being followed. There was evidence to show that people had consented to their care and that decisions made on their behalf were in their best interests.

People were happy with the food at the service and mealtimes were relaxed. The food served was nutritious; people had a variety of choice and were given support when required. People's nutritional needs were assessed to ensure they were met. People were supported to see health and social care professionals as and when required and prompt medical attention was sought in response to sudden illness.

There were positive relationships between people and members of staff and staff treated people with kindness and compassion. Staff had spent time getting to know people which helped them to provide people with care based on their wishes. People were involved in making decisions about their care and the running of the service. They were provided with information about their care and the service, as well as external organisations they may wish to get in touch with for additional support

23rd March 2015 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

We inspected Lady Spencer House on 23 March 2015. Lady Spencer House provides care and support for up to 24 people who are physically and mentally frail. The home offers accommodation over three floors. On the day of the inspection there were 20 people living at the home.

There service did not have a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were assisted by staff in a way that supported their safety and they were treated with respect. People had care plans in place which took account of their needs and individual choices.

People’s medication was administered by staff who had received training to ensure that the medicine was administered safely and in a timely manner.

Staff cared for people in a warm and caring manner. They used appropriate techniques to calm people when they were anxious or angry.

Staff were trained to provide effective and safe care which met people’s individual needs and wishes.

Staff were supported by the manager to maintain and develop their skills and knowledge by way of regular supervision, appraisals and training.

People were able to raise any suggestions or concerns they might have with the manager and these were listened to and acted on as communication with the manager was good.

Arrangements were in place to ensure the quality of the service provided to people was regularly monitored.

21st November 2013 - During an inspection to make sure that the improvements required had been made pdf icon

In this report the name of a registered manager appears who was not in post. Their name appears because they were still a Registered Manager on our register at the time.

We visited Lady Spencer House on 21 November 2013 to ensure that the compliance actions which had been made when we visited the service on 25 July 2013 had been achieved.

The majority of the people we spoke with were unable to respond to specific questions about their experiences as they had complex needs. They spoke with us about random topics and looked happy and content.

We spoke to a relative who was visiting on the day of our inspection. The person was complimentary about the care provided to their family member.

We observed positive interactions between staff and people who use the service. People looked relaxed in the company of staff.

We found that the system in place to maintain appropriate standards of cleanliness and hygiene in the home had been reviewed to ensure that people lived in a clean hygienic environment. People were now protected against the risks of unsafe or unsuitable premises. This was because areas in the home that required attention and posed a risk to people’s safety had been addressed.

We found that people were protected against the risks of unsafe or inappropriate care and treatment. This was because records relating to their care and treatment were now accurately and appropriately maintained.

25th July 2013 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

We spoke with nine people who used the service, five relatives, three staff and the registered manager.

We found that people were satisfied with the care and support they received. A relative of a person who use the service said, “I am happy with the care my… is receiving. I visit different times of the day and never come across anything untoward. There are staff around all the time”. Another relative said, “My …always look clean and is provided with plenty of fluids”.

We found that people were supported to have adequate food and hydration. Equipment used in the home was properly maintained and suitable for its purpose. Recruitment processes were robust to ensure staff were fit and suitable to work with people.

We found that appropriate standards of cleanliness and hygiene in the home were not maintained. People were not protected against the risks associated with unsafe or unsuitable premises.

Records relating to people’s care and treatment and other records were not accurate and appropriately maintained.

16th August 2012 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

During our visit on 16 August 2012, we used a number of different methods to help us understand the experiences of people using the service, because some people had complex needs which meant they were not able to tell us about their experiences.

We spoke with two people living in the home, and observed the care and support provided to 13 people in total. We also spoke with one person's relative and four members of staff, including the manager.

One person's relative told us that people living in the home were always well presented and the home was free from offensive odours whenever they visited. Our own observations supported this statement.

Both of the people living in the home that we spoke with told us that the staff treated them well.

We observed some positive interaction between staff and people using the service, which showed that staff understood the needs of the people they were supporting and knew how best to communicate with them.

 

 

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