Elm Lodge Nursing and Residential Home

Elm Lodge Nursing and Residential Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 64 people. The service provides support to older and younger people including people who were living with dementia and people with physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 59 people using the service.

Elm Lodge Nursing and Residential Home is a large building made up of three floors, each of which has separate adapted facilities and various communal spaces and a shared garden.

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

People told us they were often bored with little to do. While there were some planned events, people were not always engaged in meaningful activities or given opportunities for regular, informal chats with staff.

People were still positive about the care they received and told us they did really like the staff who treated them well despite being very busy. People were supported by a kind and compassionate staff team who had got to know people as individuals.

People did not always receive personalised care in practice, but staff were aware of people’s likes, dislikes, and preferences. People were involved in reviews of their care and able to make choices about how they were supported. People's independence, privacy and dignity was, in the main, promoted by staff.

People were kept safe by a staff team which knew how to safeguard them from harm. Risks to people had been assessed and procedures were in place in all areas of their care. Staff had received training relevant to their role.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to see health professionals and to live healthy lives.

People were supported in an environment which was clean and odour free. The environment did not currently support people living with dementia, but the new provider was making improvements to the premises to further improve people's care and support.

People had access to a complaints procedure and complaints were dealt with promptly and thoroughly. People were supported with dignity and respect at the end of their lives.

The registered manager completed audits to monitor the quality of the service and put improvements in place where necessary. People, relatives, and the staff team were encouraged to feedback about the service. The registered manager and staff team worked with other professionals to promote good outcomes for people.

People and the staff team were positive about the management of the service and the management style of the new provider. They were also very positive about the changes the new provider had made and the plans for further improvement.

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 the service under the previous provider was good, published on 27/09/2019. At our last inspection, under the previous provider, we recommended the provider improve opportunities for how people spent their time. At this inspection we found people had some opportunities open to them but people continued to lack opportunities for ad-hoc interactions with staff unless it was task based. The new provider has developed an action plan to address this shortfall which is yet to be fully implemented.

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.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified a breach in relation to a lack of person-centred opportunities for how people spend their time at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.