Conquest Lodge

We found the following examples of good practice.

The service took part in the national COVID-19 testing programme for care homes. People and staff had received their vaccinations. Risk assessments were completed to keep staff and people safe.

Visitors were welcomed and required to book an appointment. Visitors were asked to follow the providers safe entry procedure’s for example, there temperature was checked, they completed documentation about COVID-19. Visitors who were not part of a regular testing programme, were asked to complete a rapid COVID-19 test. Personal protective equipment (PPE) was also provided for visitors as part of good infection control practice.

Staff followed the providers infection prevention controls, this included monitoring and documenting their temperature before commencing each shift. Regular meetings were held to discuss good practice and review any changes to guidance.

All staff received training on infection control, the correct use and disposal of PPE and good hand washing techniques. Competency checks to ensure staff maintained good practices were completed. Regular infection control audits were completed and monitored to ensure best practices were followed.

The home looked visibly clean. Rooms were uncluttered to support effective cleaning. Cleaning schedules had been changed to incorporate sanitising frequently touched areas. Night cleaning schedules had also increased to provide deep cleaning of communal areas.

Conquest Lodge is a residential home providing personal care to 19 people who have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder, and/or physical disability. The service is located on one site but split across four bungalows.

The service is also registered to provide personal care to people living in the community. Although the service was not providing this regulated activity at the time of this inspection.

This is larger than current best practice guidance. However, the size of the service having a negative impact on people was mitigated by the building design fitting into the residential area and the other large domestic homes of a similar size. There were deliberately no identifying signs, intercom, cameras, industrial bins or anything else outside to indicate it was a care home. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.

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

People showed they were happy living at Conquest Lodge, they felt safe and comfortable with the staff team.

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.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

The provider had systems in place to manage risks and keep people safe from avoidable harm. Staff followed good practice guidelines to prevent the spread of infection and gave people their medicines safely.

People were supported to be as active as possible. The staff looked for ways to continually make improvements, worked well with external professionals and ensured that people were part of their local community.

Staff were kind and caring and knew each person well. Staff enjoyed working at the service and felt the they received good support. There were enough staff to support people in the way they wanted. Staff received training, supervision, guidance and support so that they could do their job well. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity.

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 4 August 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

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

This unannounced inspection took place on 12 July 2017. At the last inspection on 19 August 2015 the service was rated as ‘Good’. At this inspection we found overall the service remained ‘Good’.

A registered manager was in post at the time of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

Potential risks to people were assessed and minimised and staff understood their responsibility to protect people from avoidable harm. There were enough staff on duty to meet people's needs and staff recruitment ensured that only staff suitable to work at this home were employed. Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines as prescribed.

Staff received induction, training and support that ensured they could do their job well. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. People's nutritional needs were met and people were supported to have enough to eat and drink. A range of healthcare professionals visited the home to support people to maintain good health.

Staff treated people with kindness. Staff showed they genuinely cared about the people they were looking after. They respected people's privacy and dignity and encouraged people to be as independent as they could be. Visitors were welcomed and also had warm, friendly relationships with the staff.

Care plans were person centred and gave staff guidance on the care each person needed. A wide range of activities, outings and entertainment was provided and people were encouraged to follow their own interests. People and their relatives knew who to speak to if they were not happy with the service and were confident their complaints would be addressed.

There was a registered manager in post who was approachable, supportive and provided good leadership. People, staff and visitors to the home were encouraged to put forward their views about the service being provided. The quality of the care was monitored by a range of audits that were carried out regularly.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

As part of this inspection we spoke with six people who used the service, two healthcare professionals who had regular contact with the home, the registered manager and five members of care staff. We reviewed records relating to the management of the service which included five care plans, daily records, safeguarding procedures, training records and quality assurance monitoring records.

In this report the name of a registered manager appears who was not in post and not managing the regulatory activities at this location at the time of the inspection. Their name appears because they were still a Registered Manager on our register at the time. We have contacted the provider about this and we are in the process of removing the person's name from the home's registration.

Below is a summary of what we found. The summary describes what people using the service, their relatives and the staff told us, what we observed and the records we looked at

Is the service safe?

Risk assessments regarding people's individual needs and activities were carried out and arrangements were in place to minimise any potential dangers as much as possible. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities in making sure people were protected from the risk of abuse and were up to date with safeguarding training and accompanying reporting procedures. The premises were well maintained and met the personal preferences and needs of people living in the home.

Is the service effective?

The care staff we met were knowledgeable about people's individual care and support needs. Observations we made during our inspection confirmed that the care staff provided friendly and attentive support when assisting people during the day. People were assisted to make choices regarding how they wished to spend time during the day either at home, or when accessing facilities in the wider community.

Is the service caring?

Observations made during our inspection showed that people received warm, consistent and respectful support from care staff and they were enabled to make choices and changes when required. One person told us that 'I really like living here and the staff help me with cooking and shopping.' Staff told us that they were well supported and supervised by the manager and senior staff so that they could provide safe care and support to people.

Is the service responsive?

We saw that people's personal care and social support needs were assessed and met by staff. This also included people's individual choices and preferences as to how they liked to be supported. We observed and saw from the records that people could make changes to their support and had been involved in the regular reviews of their support plans as much as possible.

Is the service well led?

The home was effectively managed and staff told us that they felt well supported and were regularly trained to safely provide support to people. Observations made during our inspection showed that staff were enthusiastic, friendly and attentive so that people were supported consistently and safely. Health and safety checks were in place to monitor the services provided. The service gathered opinions from people who used the service, healthcare professionals and staff to identify any improvements that could be made to the service

People that we spoke with during our inspection visit on 24 July 2013 were positive and satisfied with the care and support they received whilst living in the home. They made comments such as; 'The staff are very helpful and help me during the day'. People said that they had a keyworker to help them organise their week and any events that were coming up. People felt that they could talk to the manager and staff whenever they wanted to sort out any problems or concerns.

Care and support was being regularly reviewed to ensure that peoples' needs were being met. There was evidence of people's involvement in the planning of their care and support.

Staff were trained in the safe administration of medication and records of administration were accurately completed.

There was regular staff supervision and ongoing training sessions in place to ensure that staff could safely deliver care and support to people.

The home had an effective system to effectively deal with complaints that people using the service. People regularly had access to staff to resolve any concerns that they had.