Lammas House Residential Care Home

Lammas House Residential Care Home is a purpose-built home for older people. It is registered to provide care for a maximum of 23 people. The home has three floors. The ground floor has seven bedrooms, the first floor has nine bedrooms and the top floor has seven bedrooms. All floors have communal facilities. On the day of our inspection 20 people were using the service.

At our last inspection on 21 January 2016 we rated the service 'good' overall, but the key question of 'safe' required improvement. At this inspection we judged the key question of 'safe' had improved to 'good'; and the key questions of 'caring' and 'well-led' had improved to be 'outstanding'.'

People received a safe service. Medicines were now managed and administered safely. People were protected from avoidable harm, discrimination and abuse. Risks associated with people's health and well- being had been assessed and acted on. The premises were well maintained, and infection control procedures were adhered to. There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs and safe staff recruitment procedures were in place. Accidents and incidents were analysed for lessons learnt and these were shared with the staff team to reduce further reoccurrence.

People continued to receive an effective service. Staff received the training and support they required to meet people's individual needs. People's nutritional needs were well met. Staff identified when people required further support with eating and drinking and took appropriate action. Staff worked well with external health care professionals, and people accessed health services when required. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) were followed.

People now received outstanding care from staff who were kind, compassionate, and went the extra mile for them. Staff treated people with the utmost dignity and respect. Staff had developed extremely positive relationships with the people they supported, they understood people's needs, preferences, and what was important to them. Staff knew how to comfort people when they were distressed and made sure that emotional support was provided. People's independence was promoted.

People continued to receive a responsive service. People's needs were assessed and planned for with the involvement of the person and or their relative where required. Daily social activities were available which people enjoyed. There was a complaints procedure and the very small number of complaints had been addressed appropriately. People received excellent end of life care.

People now received outstanding leadership, with the service being extremely well-led. The registered manager and her team provided excellent support to staff; and were open and transparent in their management. The management team put people at the heart of what they did, and were well supported by the provider in their quest to deliver an exceptional service.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found