West Lodge Care Home

Updated 11 February 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 25 January 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 1 days’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 11 February 2022

West Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during the inspection.

West Lodge accommodates up to 60 older people in one building. People are accommodated over three floors, each of which have separate adapted facilities. The service provides both nursing and residential care. On the day of our inspection there were 59 people using the service.

The inspection took place on 4 December 2017 and was unannounced. This meant staff did not know we were visiting.

We last inspected West Lodge on 7 October 2015 and rated the service as ‘Good’. At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good’.

The service had a registered manager who was on duty during the course of our visit. They had worked at the home for several years as a nurse but became the registered manager earlier in 2017. The registered manager was also a registered nurse. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Staff and the management team understood their responsibilities with regard to keeping people safe and staff members had been trained in safeguarding adults. People we spoke with and their relatives told us they felt very safe at the home. The registered manager shared learning from feedback and safeguarding events with the staff team through recorded meetings.

Where potential risks had been identified an assessment had been completed to keep people as safe as possible. Health and safety checks were completed and procedures were in place to deal with emergency situations.

The home was clean, and we saw staff followed good practice in relation to wearing personal protective equipment when providing people with care and support. The environment was homely, accessible and dementia focussed. For example, one person who used to be a gardener was enabled to spend considerable time in the accessible garden and greenhouse area.

Medicines were managed safely. We saw medicines being administered to people in a safe and caring way. People confirmed they received their medicines at the correct time and they were always made available to them. We saw nursing staff working with community professionals to ensure end of life anticipatory medicines were available to people when needed.

We found there were sufficient care staff deployed to provide people’s care in a timely manner. We saw that recruitment checks were carried out to ensure that staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people. People told us their needs were attended to very promptly.

Staff received the support and training they required. Records confirmed training, supervisions and appraisals were up to date.

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.

People gave positive feedback about the meals they were served at the home. People received the support they needed with eating and drinking by the kitchen team who were trained in the support of people with nutritional needs.

We saw people’s healthcare needs were well monitored and records in relation to the monitoring of people’s health, nutrition and pressure care were recorded.

People were supported by care staff who were aware of how to protect their privacy and dignity and show them respect at all times. The home had a dignity champion who was committed to the role and had ensured people were involved in the day to day running of the service. End of life care was provided by compassionate and well trained staff and the service was working towards the accredited GOLD standards framework for palliative care.

People’s needs were assessed before they came to live at the service and then personalised care plans were developed and regularly reviewed to support staff in caring for people the way they preferred.

An activities coordinator provided a range of activities and support for people to access the community.

People and staff were very positive about the management of the home. Many staff had worked at the service for a number of years and this added to the feeling of a caring, well-run home.

The provider had an effective complaints procedure in place and people who used the service and family members were aware of how to make a complaint. Feedback systems were in place to obtain people’s views about the quality of the service. We saw a suggestion book and surveys had been recently carried out.

The service had good links with the local community and local organisations. The local community had recently praised the home for enabling several residents to attend the recent remembrance service with staff support.