Larkland House wins approval of national care inspectors

Home news

Mar 08, 2017

A national care watchdog has given Larkland House the seal of approval, with relatives and residents praising its kind and caring team members.

The Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) report gave Larkland House an overall ‘good’ rating, following an unannounced inspection.

The home received ‘good’ ratings in all five categories, including safety, effectiveness, level of care, responsiveness and well-led service.

The inspectors highlighted that residents felt safe and were happy with the care they received. The report observed that the team were caring, kind, compassionate and treated residents with dignity and respect, which promoted their wellbeing.

One team member mentioned that a resident loved flowers, and in the summer the team ensured that this resident had lots of pots outside their doors, leading to the garden. The team member said: “They love this, it encourages her to move more and get out into the garden.”

Residents were encouraged to bring their pets to the care home. The inspectors saw a resident had a pet bird in their room, while another resident had a cat and their relative said: “It’s her lifeline, it has made a huge difference to [resident’s] life.”

Caroline Walker, home manager at Larkland House, said: “We strive to create a welcoming home from home at Larkland House, and I’m so pleased our efforts have been recognised by the CQC’s inspectors. Everyone here works incredibly hard to support residents with compassionate, person-centred care, and to be rated ‘good’ shows just how committed the team is to making a positive difference to resident’s lives each and every day.

“I’m extremely proud of our team and I would like to say thank you for their hard work and dedication, which I know is also greatly appreciated by residents and their families.”

The inspectors added that Larkland House implemented a detailed, person-centred approach to care plans. Residents were free to spend their recreational time as they chose, and participation in activities was encouraged. On the day of the inspection, a singing group was practicing, and those who could not participate were supported to join in. Residents also had the option of going to the local pub for lunch, and on occasion were able to enjoy the company of team member’s dogs.

The report also referenced that life story books are being introduced at the care home. The books will include information about the resident’s background and hobbies, providing valuable information for the team which enables them to tailor residents’ care to their specific needs.

Resident’s bedrooms were personalised and there were memory boxes outside their bedroom doors, which displayed items specific to that resident – one resident had a horse shoe and horse racing colours displayed. This enabled team members to strike up meaningful conversations with residents.

To assess service standards at Larkland House, the CQC’s inspector spoke with team members, residents and their visiting relatives on the day of the inspection. They also reviewed the records and procedures already in place at the care home.

Larkland House has been designed to deliver the very best standards of care and to enable residents to live active and fulfilled lives. The home provides full time residential, nursing and specialist dementia care, as well as short term respite and day care.