The Lawns Nursing and Residential Care

The service is on two floors, with access to upper floors via a shaft lift or stair lifts. Bedrooms have either an ensuite or washing facilities. There is a secure outside patio area.

We found the following examples of good practice.

The registered manager and staff had been working hard and were dedicated to keeping people safe. Staff had received infection, prevention and control training and they wore PPE correctly.

Government guidance was being followed to ensure people were protected from the spread of infection, for example seating arrangements in the lounges and dining rooms enabled people to socially distance.

People remained connected with their friends and families via the use of technology. A new dedicated telephone line had been installed so that day to day operational phone calls did not affect people's ability to speak with their loved ones. The Wi-Fi system had been improved throughout the service to ensure access for all, regardless of where their bedroom was positioned.

Visitors to the service were prevented from catching and spreading the infection because safe and effective measures were in place. This included people's temperatures being checked on entry and the wearing of PPE. Visit times were staggered, and a newly created visiting booth enabled people to visit their loved ones safely. The visiting booth had been decorated in a way which provided people and their families with a homely and comfortable feeling.

Families were enabled to visit their loved ones, who were at the end of life and were treated with respect and compassion by staff. At the time of the inspection, the provider was in the process of communicating with people and families about the new government visiting guidance. They were keen to start arranging face to face visits as soon as possible to help reduce ongoing social isolation.

People were safely admitted to the service from hospital and/or the community in line with current guidance.

A new laundry area had been created on the top floor which had been done to improve the handling of contaminated laundry, should there be an outbreak at the service. The laundry areas were safely managed, with systems in place to handle laundry in line with guidelines. Cleaning routines at the service included high touch areas, such as door handles and light switches.

Regular testing of people and staff was taking place, and the vaccine had been rolled out to people and staff. Risk assessments were in place as required and measures were being taken to protect people and staff who were assessed as being in a vulnerable category.

Staff's overall wellbeing was important to the registered manager, and steps had been taken to offer support through team meetings, one to one sessions. The registered manager had taken time to display personal messages of thanks and appreciation of the staff, in helping to sustain staff morale and personal resilience.

The registered manager had a good understanding of infection, prevention and control guidance and was confident in their decision-making processes and knew how to access local support.

Should an outbreak occur the registered manager had a contingency plan in place.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found