Locharwoods Care Home

We found the following examples of good practice. There were policies, procedures and good practices in place to manage risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic which were regularly reviewed and updated following any changes in national guidance. These included the management of people with a COVID-19 positive diagnosis, staffing, admissions of people to the home, visitors and PPE.

People living in the home and their family were supported to maintain contact. This included designated essential carers. Residents had a contact and visitors plan in place. In the event of COVID-19 visit restrictions people were supported to maintain contact by the telephone and video calls. Relatives of people coming to the end of their lives were supported to visit safely. People were admitted safely and in accordance with national guidelines to the home from the community or from hospital. The home had good supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for staff and visitors to use. Hand sanitiser was readily available throughout the service. Staff had received updated training on the use of PPE, and we observed staff wearing it correctly during our inspection. Clear signage, information and personal support was in place throughout the home to remind and educate staff and visitors of their responsibilities.

A programme of regular COVID-19 testing for people in the home, staff, essential carers and visitors to the home was implemented. All visitors, including visiting professionals were subject to a range of screening procedures, including showing evidence of vaccination and a negative lateral flow test before entry into the home was allowed. The provider was meeting Covid-19 vaccination requirements for staff, residents and visitors. Documentation was in place and retained for a specified period.

The home appeared clean and hygienic throughout. Daily cleaning schedules were implemented by housekeepers. These have been reviewed and enhanced. All staff were involved in undertaking extra cleaning throughout the day and night. Staff and management were well supported to be resilient and manage IPC risks effectively.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found