The Lodge Residential Home

Updated 3 March 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 care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has 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 3 February 2022 and was unannounced.

Updated 3 March 2022

About the service

The Lodge is a care home that offers care and support to 32 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection 17 people were living at The Lodge.

People’s experience of using this service

• People were very happy living at The Lodge. They felt safe and liked the staff who looked after them. Relatives told us the service had improved significantly since the new manager started in January 2019. They were very satisfied with the service the staff gave to their family members and they felt their previous concerns had been listened to and acted upon. Staff were motivated by the improvements that had been made.

• Everyone praised the manager who was approachable, helpful and provided strong leadership. The manager had built a strong management team of two deputy managers and senior care workers. All staff were involved in the improvements at the service.

• The provider employed enough staff so that they could meet people’s needs in a timely way. Staff went through a thorough recruitment process so that the provider knew they only employed suitable staff. The staff team included very experienced staff who had worked at the service for several years. Staff enjoyed working together and supported each other and the management team.

• The manager had made an impact since joining the service. They, the management team and staff were clear about improvements that had to be made at the service. They were proud of what they had achieved in a short period of time but understood that improvements had to be sustained and built upon.

• The manager had made improvements to systems that kept people safe from avoidable harm. They had reviewed and improved risk assessments that staff followed to ensure that people received safe care. Staff knew who to report any concerns to and assessments of potential risk ensured that people were as safe as possible. Staff undertook training that supported them to have the knowledge and skills to do their job well and effectively meet people’s needs.

• Staff knew each person well, including their likes and dislikes and their preferences about how they wanted staff to care for them.

• Staff gave people their prescribed medicines safely. The manager had improved the arrangements for the safe management of medicines. Staff followed good practice guidelines to help prevent the spread of infection. The premises were clean and fresh.

• The kitchen staff cooked a variety of nutritious meals, based on people’s choices and including special diets for those who needed them. External healthcare professionals supported staff to help people maintain or improve their health.

• People made choices in all aspects of their lives, including being involved in decisions about activities they wanted to participate in.

• Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and encouraged people to be as independent as possible. People had opportunities to decide on the care they wanted and to review and change the care if it was not meeting their needs. Care records reflected their decisions.

• A staff member organised meaningful and stimulating things for people to do. They organised group and individual activities, outings and entertainments. People with faith needs were supported to follow them.

• People knew how to complain and were confident that the manager would resolve their complaints.

• The provider had complied with the conditions we imposed after our last inspection. After this inspection the service was no longer in ‘special measures’.

• The local authority had lifted a suspension on new admissions to the service.

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

Rating at last inspection

At the last inspection we rated this service inadequate (report published on 13 November 2018). That inspection followed one in April 2018 when we required the provider to make improvements and issued a warning notice. At our last inspection we found the provider was in breach of four regulations. They had not notified CQC of all of the deaths or notifiable incidents that occurred at the home. They had not identified potential abuse of people and staff with the right skills and knowledge were not always deployed to meet the needs of people. We placed the service into special measures.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.