'Outstanding' Result Again for Barchester's Lucerne House Care Centre

Lucerne House Care Centre in Alphington, Exeter passed a recent Care Quality Commission inspection with an overall “Outstanding” rating for the second time after being praised for a safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led service.

Currently only 4.1% of England’s care homes, domiciliary care agencies and hospitals have an overall “Outstanding” rating, making Lucerne House ranked among the best in the country for the quality of the services it provides.

The CQC inspected the home on 17th and 18th of September (the report was released on 30th October) and rated the home, run by Barchester Healthcare, as “Outstanding” in four key assessment areas and “good” in one key assessment area.

The report stated that: “People received an outstanding, personalised, caring service. People told us they received very kind and respectful support from staff who promoted their abilities, knew them well and genuinely enjoyed their company. The whole staff group worked as a team to support people in a person-centred way”.

“People were valued and placed at the heart of the service. Staff promoted people's privacy and dignity and enabled them to make choices and have as much control and independence as possible which helped build meaningful relationships”.

The report went on to say “Feedback about the service from people, family and linked professionals always mentioned the service in outstanding terms. People said, "The staff here have time for you. They are always relaxed and happy and have time to chat and even banter with you" and, "I can't fault the care here. I know the care I get here, courtesy of the wonderful staff, is of the highest order."

The staff at the home were also positively recognised in the report; “People received effective care and treatment from competent, knowledgeable and skilled staff who had the relevant qualifications to meet people's needs.”

The CQC inspectors recognised how the team at Lucerne House treated provided each resident with personalised care; “People were supported to have exceptional choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the training, management, policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Every person bar none were seen as individuals and the staff sought to identify goals and aspirations for each person, so they could live their life to the greatest extent of their ability while at Lucerne House. Every effort was then made to ensure those goals and aspirations could be realised.”

The report also commented on how safe residents and their families felt at the home; “People and relatives were extremely positive about the safety of the service and how staff ensured they were safe. People said, ‘This home felt safe as soon as I first arrived here, and I've felt safe here ever since.’”

The relative’s experience was praised positively by inspectors too; “Care was extended to relatives. A relative told us, "When my relative first moved in I didn't realise just how low I'd become trying to care for them at home. Things obviously improved for my relative as soon as they moved in, but what I really appreciated was how they helped me just as much as my relative". Another relative said, "They treat me and my wife as a unit. I feel at ease when I leave and not guilty. I feel part of my wife's team; relieved about the level of care, consistent and caring."

One of the key highlights of the report was the caring experience and expert care delivered for those living with dementia at the home. The report said “The service was accredited by the provider's dementia care scheme for their care for people living with dementia. Lucerne House's Memory Lane section was a dedicated dementia unit where we saw excellent care of people living with dementia taking place. An A-Z Directory of Dementia Care, written with Leeds Beckett University [and Caroline Baker, Director of Dementia at Barchester Healthcare] was used to ensure people living with dementia could achieve their full potential.”

The report continued “Dementia care was extended to people in the community living with dementia and their carers. A Memory café had been developed to enable people in the community and service to attend. Support was also extended to relatives and carers. The service was featured in the publication The Journal of Dementia Care (July-August 2018) highlighting the views of relatives in respect of the services dementia care as an outstanding service.”

In celebration of the rating, which is the 7th “Outstanding” (or equivalent) rating for the company overall, CEO of Barchester Healthcare Dr Pete Calveley visited the home to thank each member of the team personally, and presented each one with a £500 gift voucher in appreciation of their hard work and contribution to the fantastic result for the home.

Lucerne House achieved the first “Outstanding” rating from the CQC in the history of the company, and are the first for Barchester to achieve the result twice consecutively.

John Bayliss, General Manager at Lucerne House Care Centre said: “We are ecstatic! The team at Lucerne House work so hard to provide the best possible quality care for everyone who lives at the home and we are so delighted that CQC have rated us “Outstanding” for the second time in a row!

“I’m very proud of the whole team. I really believe that delivering this standard of care is all about having great people who are passionate about what they do and dedicated to the people they support."