CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Larchmere House Nursing Home
Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the home was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.
What inspectors found, August 2017
Larchmere House Nursing Home was rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with no breaches reported.
The inspection was unannounced and took place on 13 and 14 July 2017. Inspectors spoke with people living in the home, relatives and staff. They also observed care and checked care plans, medicines records, staff files, training records and quality checks.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines practices, suitable training, personalised care plans and good support with food, fluids and health appointments.
People and relatives spoke positively about the care. Staff were seen to be kind, respectful and responsive. The home had activities, complaint arrangements and systems for listening to people's views. It remained Good, the same rating as at the previous inspection in June 2015.
Enough staff
Inspectors found there were enough staff to provide safe, personalised care, including arrangements to cover leave or unexpected absence.
“There was sufficient staff to meet people's care needs, and effective processes in place to cover leave or unexpected absence.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
Staff spent time with people, listened to them and protected their privacy and dignity.
“Staff were seen to be kind and had time to spend with people.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans included people's preferences, history, activities and spiritual needs. People and relatives were involved in reviewing care.
“Personal profiling identified information on people's history, likes, dislikes, activities and any other information that included spiritual needs.” from the report
Activities and choice
People could take part in a range of activities and had choices about food, room decoration and communal areas.
“People had access to a range of activities that were personalised to their needs.” from the report
Expired medicine found
minorA medicines audit found one box of paracetamol past its use-by date. The report says it was safely disposed of, but families may want to ask how medicines are checked now.
“A recent drug audit discovered a box of paracetamol that had passed it's use by date.” from the report
- 01How are medicines checked to make sure none are out of date, and how often are these checks carried out?
- 02How do you make sure there are enough staff when someone is absent or on leave?
- 03How will my relative and our family be involved in monthly care plan reviews and the yearly care meeting?
- 04Which activities would match my relative's interests, abilities and spiritual needs?
- 05How can we raise a concern or complaint, and how will we be told about the outcome?
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering all five questions, and the previous Good ratings from 2015 remained unchanged. This explanation was written from the published report of 25 August 2017 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Larchmere House Nursing Home
2 rated inspections over 2 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- August 2017Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
Read what inspectors found at Larchmere House Nursing Home →
- July 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- September 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- April 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 7 December 2010.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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39 live-in carers within about an hour of Kent
These are self-employed carers on PrimeCarers, the introductory agency that runs this directory. Each has a profile with their own rates and reviews from families, and you choose who to talk to.
Most charge £980 to £1,260 a week. 33 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.
“Always on time and with a lovely smile for my mum. Theresa is kind and sensitive to my mum's needs.”
“Irene was a very kind and empathetic carer who knew just the right words to say to put a smile on my face.”
Every carer has had an enhanced DBS check in the last 18 months, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview. Their skills and training are for you to check with them. Carers set their own rates, and who is free changes week to week.