Archived: Fern Lodge Care Home

"I am keeping well-when you are not well they always get a doctor"

"I have only got to tell them what I need and they do it for me"

"I feel safe here-I have no worries"

"The staff are excellent, they are really nice"

"I always get my tablets on time and they never miss them"

"We have meetings all together at times and they always listen to us"

"I always get my medication-I am never kept waiting"

"Staff are reasonable and I am happy here"

"I am settled here and happy"

We found on this visit that individuals who lived at Fern Lodge had their needs met and were consulted about all aspects of their care. We found that arrangements were in place to ensure that people using the service were protected from harm. The health and wellbeing of people was protected by the safe management of medication and some people had the opportunity to be independent in dealing with their own medication.

The service demonstrated that the quality of support provided was assessed on a regular basis. People were asked about the quality of the support they were provided with and had opportunities to comment on this formally or informally as they wished.

We found that the service did not always notify us of incidents which adversely affected the wellbeing of people. This has been raised as a compliance action in this report but this had a minor impact on people using the service.

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We found that people were supported with their independence and community involvement. One person told us she was supported by the service to find employment with a local business and also felt was able to go shopping on her own. She

told us "If I ever feel I don't want to go out on my own there is always a member of staff to come with me".

We looked at four care records and all had assessments of their health and social needs completed. There were individual support plans and risk assessments in place. There was evidence within them to show they were evaluated on a regular basis. This meant that the service could demonstrate they could meet people's needs and maintain their health and wellbeing.

We observed that the people who used the service were happy and relaxed when they were being supported by staff. We spoke with four People who used the service. They told us they felt safe living at Fern Lodge and were confident if they had any concerns the manager or staff would address them. Comments included "I feel safe here " and "I know I'm getting looked after".

We contacted Chester and Cheshire West Local Authority who confirmed there were no issues of concern with regards to Fern Lodge.