Langdale Heights

This assessment was completed due to the length of time since the last ratings inspection.

There was an exceptional and strong culture of safety and openness at Langdale Heights. Staff had a strong and confident knowledge of how to keep people safe and how to report any concerns. Responsibilities to make referrals to the local authority safeguarding team were understood and incidents were assessed as to whether a referral was needed. Any restrictions placed on a person to help ensure their safety were made in line with the appropriate legal requirements.

Staff were well trained and skilled at involving people to help manage any risks and they understood the importance of the care home environment and how it impacted on people’s well-being and safety. Actions to prevent and control the risks from infection were robustly managed.

Staffing levels were kept under review and changed to help ensure there were enough staff to care for people safely. Leaders recruited staff who had demonstrated they were suitable to work in care.

Processes ensured people’s needs were assessed before they moved to Langdale Heights and this helped to ensure the process was managed successfully. Any changes to people’s care should they need to receive care in another setting were also well-managed with clear processes in place to ensure people’s safety at these times.

Systems to manage medicines were robust and operated effectively. This included ensuring people did not receive any unnecessary medicines when their behaviour could be managed by social and environmental interventions.

Care plans were person-centred and supported people’s engagement and participation in their care. Reviews of care plans helped to provide meaningful engagement and evaluation of people’s care and identified if anything needed to change.

Recognised good practice assessment tools were used effectively to assess and monitor people’s needs. Staff used these effectively and acted quickly if people’s healthcare needs changed or deteriorated.

Staff took the lead in promoting good practice in a range of areas, such as in dignity in care and nutrition and worked well to help people experience improvements in their health and well-being. Food and drinks were prepared in line with people’s needs and menus were planned to be nutritionally balanced.

Leaders and staff at Langdale Heights had created a home where people and families felt welcome. There was a culture of kindness and compassion, and staff treated people with respect, and promoted their dignity and independence.

People’s emotional well-being was of central importance when planning people’s dementia care. People were treated as individuals, and their own unique histories and stories were understood and informed their care.

A wide range of activities were planned, and these took account of connecting people to their communities and helped people celebrate different cultures and events. The different ways people occupied themselves in meaningful activities was understood and people had support to experience activities that helped them.

Leaders understood the well-being of staff was fundamental to providing good quality care to people living at Langdale Heights and they had a variety of initiatives to recognise, value and reward their staff.

Leaders used a variety of methods to continually gather and listen to feedback about people’s experiences of Langdale Heights. A complaints policy was in place, and any concerns were dealt with thoroughly.

Care plans took full account of any health inequalities and looked at what steps could be taken to help these be reduced so people could experience equality in accessing the services they needed. People’s preferences and wishes regarding any advance care wishes were sensitively discussed and care planned. This helped people to receive responsive care.

Leaders were consistent in how they achieved high standards in all aspects of the service. There were clear expectations on staff to achieve high standards, and staff were provided with clear guidance and support to help them to do so.

Leaders had created a strong culture of learning, improvement and innovation. They had established and embedded a rolling programme of audits that had been successful in driving improvements at the service. Leaders were capable to lead the staff team with confidence as they had the skills, competence and knowledge to do so. Leaders had created a culture where staff felt safe to speak up and raise any concerns. This helped to demonstrate an open and transparent culture was in place.

The provider worked to give back to communities and created positive change by getting involved in fundraising and outreach programmes. They demonstrated their commitment to environmental sustainability and took action to ensure items were recycled and disposed of effectively.