Rivendale Lodge EMI Care Home

Updated 18 May 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.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Rivendale 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. Rivendale 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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed all information we have received about the service since the last inspection, including statutory notifications sent to us by the home about events that had occurred at the service. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. 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

Not everyone living at Rivendale Lodge was able to tell us what it was like to live at the home. We spent time in communal areas observing interactions between people and staff in order to better understand people’s experiences. We spoke to 4 people who used the service and one visitor. We spent time observing care and spoke with 3 care staff and the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people’s electronic care records in full and another 2 to look at specific areas of mental and physical health needs. We also looked at medication administration records (MAR) and 2 staff files in relation to recruitment. We reviewed accident, incident processes, staff supervision and meetings, and a variety of records relating to the management and maintenance of the home including audits and quality assurance systems.

Following the inspection, we received feedback from a further 3 relatives and 3 health professionals who visited the home regularly.

Updated 18 May 2023

About the service

Rivendale Lodge is a residential care home providing care and support for up to 27 older people living with dementia and other age-related health needs. There were 24 people living at the home at the time of our inspection.

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

We found improvements had been made following the last inspection.

People told us they were happy and enjoyed living at Rivendale Lodge. Relatives felt their loved ones were supported and received a high level of care and support. The registered manager had worked at the home for many years. Visitors, staff and relatives spoke highly of the registered manager. Feedback from visitors included that management and staff worked together as a team to ensure people were happy and well looked after at all times.

Staff were able to tell us what actions they would take if they suspected anyone was at risk of abuse. The registered manager completed notifications to the local authority and CQC when required.

Staff were able to demonstrate how they used the electronic care system to log care provided. People’s daily care needs were recorded in care plans and risk assessments. Staff were completing a detailed account of how people had spent their day in the daily records. This included people’s activities, visitors, mood, food and fluid intake and general information to share with other staff. This meant that staff had access to relevant information to enable them to provide safe care.

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 told us they felt involved in their care and were able to spend time doing the things they enjoyed. When appropriate peoples’ Next of Kin (NoK) or Lasting Power of Attorney (LPoA) were involved in decisions.

People received their medicines safely and there were appropriate Infection Prevention Control processes in place.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Many staff had worked at Rivendale Lodge for many years, when new staff were employed, safe recruitment processes were followed. Staff told us they enjoyed working at the home and felt supported. Staff received supervision and appraisals. Regular staff meetings had also taken place, this was an opportunity for information to be shared and gave staff a chance to feedback their views.

There were systems and process in place to ensure good governance was maintained throughout the home. This included maintenance and fire safety checks and auditing of documentation.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

At the last rating for this service was good (published 13 May 2022)

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained as good.

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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Rivendale Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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