‘Further progress is required’ at Hailsham care home for people with learning disabilities

Lynfords, in Nursery Close, is run by Achieve Together Ltd and provides accommodation and personal care for up to six people with learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection there were five people living there.

The CQC looks at five categories - safe, effective, care, responsive, and well-led. The inspection took place in December and the report was released last week (February 16). It got requires improvement for the responsive and well-led categories, and good for the remaining three categories. This came to an overall rating of requires improvement.

The last inspection was in July 2019 and it got requires improvement then due to ‘breaches of regulation’. The report said: “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. However, further progress is required to ensure that the progress made is sustained and embedded into everyday practice.”

Specifically for services for people with a learning disability, the CQC has three focus points - right support, right care, right culture.

On the support focus, the report said: “The model of care used ensured that people were able to make choices and decisions and any risks were assessed and reviewed regularly. As a result of reviews, applications had been submitted for additional funding to meet some people’s changed needs and to maximise their opportunities to be more independent and in control of their day. Emphasis had been placed on ensuring that staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to meet people’s individual needs. Lynfords was kept clean.”

For care, it said it was ‘not always person-centred’. The report said: “Records did not always demonstrate that people were given choices in relation to the food they ate and the activities they participated in.”

Despite this, staff care was praised. It said: “We observed that staff were caring in their approach and people responded warmly to them. Relatives and professionals described staff as caring. We observed this and that people responded warmly to staff. When people needed personal care, staff ensured that this was provided by discreetly taking people to their bedrooms.”

Finally, for the culture point the, it said there are systems in place to get views from people through meetings but no recent surveys had been done for people or their relatives.

The report said: “Staff morale had been low but there were regular staff meetings and management had ensured that all staff attended a recent supervision meeting. Staff told us support had greatly improved and they felt confident this would continue. Visiting professionals all spoke positively of the impact the new manager had already made in the short time they had worked at the service.

“The systems for auditing the service ensured that any shortfalls were identified. Following these checks an action plan was written to ensure that matters were assigned for addressing and a clear timescale was given.”

A spokesperson for Achieve Together Ltd said: “Whilst rated good in three areas, we gave immediate reassurances on request in relation to two areas of focus at the home during the inspection visits. We remain wholly committed to continuous improvement and have already made many positive improvements ensuring these are embedded within the home and that people we support are living fulfilling lives. We continue to work in partnership with stakeholders. ”

You can read the full report here

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