Maple Leaf Lodge

Updated 23 November 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The Expert by Experience did not attend the service on the day of the inspection. The Expert by Experience conducted telephone interviews with people’s relatives.

Service and service type

Maple Leaf Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Maple Leaf Lodge is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. The service was run by a manager who was going to register with the Care Quality Commission.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from other professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 4 people living at the service. We spoke to the Divisional manager, the manager, the Senior Operational Lead and 4 members of staff. We reviewed care plans for 4 people and a range of records related to the management of the service such as medicines records, staff recruitment records and minutes of meetings.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate the evidence found. We spoke with 5 relatives of people who live at Maple Leaf Lodge.

Updated 23 November 2023

About the service

Maple Leaf Lodge is a residential care home providing accommodation for people with learning disabilities and autism. The home provides a range of support pathways for up to 12 people. At the time of our inspection there were 11 people using the service.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence, and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Right Support: Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life. The service worked with people to plan for when they experienced periods of distress, so that their freedoms were restricted only if there was no alternative. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff provided them with care in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. The policies and systems in the service promoted this practice. People were presented with choices about their living environment and were able to personalise their rooms. Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community.

Right Care: Some of the records relating to people’s care and health and safety required updating. Medicines were not always administered as prescribed. People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to people's individual needs. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had received training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.

Right Culture: People received good quality care, support and treatment because suitably trained staff and specialists could meet their needs and wishes. Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. The quality of support provided to people was evaluated, involving the person, their families and other professionals as appropriate. Staff ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised so that people received support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 10 January 2018)

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Recommendations

We recommend that the provider review their system to record and monitor the administration of medicines.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.