Belmore Lodge

Updated 12 January 2018

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on the 17 October 2017 and was unannounced; it continued on the 18 October 2017 and was announced. It was carried out by one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who used this type of care service.

Before the inspection we looked at notifications we had received about the service. A notification is the means by which providers tell us important information that affects the running of the service and the care people receive. We also looked at information on their returned Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During our inspection we spoke with 18 people who used the service and three relatives. We spoke with the registered manager, the operations manager, clinical manager, quality manager, clinical lead, two nurses, five care workers, five activity staff, the chef and an administrator. We reviewed ten peoples care files and discussed with them and care workers their accuracy. We checked three staff files, care records and medication records, management audits, staff and resident meeting records and the complaints log. We walked around the building observing the safety and suitability of the environment and observing staff practice.

Updated 12 January 2018

The inspection took place on the 17 October 2017 and was unannounced. The inspection continued on the 18 October 2017 and was announced. Belmore Lodge is a residential nursing home in Lymington and registered to provide accommodation for up to 55 people. There were 52 people using the service on the days of our inspection. Rooms are over three floors, single occupancy and all have an ensuite with a wash basin and toilet. Specialist bathrooms are available on each level of the home. There are a range of public areas including a lounge on each floor, dining room, and café. There are communal secure gardens with good access from the building.

The home had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.

People and their families described the care as safe. Staff had been trained to recognise signs of abuse and knew the actions they needed to take if abuse was suspected. People were protected from avoidable harm as risk assessments had been carried out, were regularly reviewed and staff understood the actions needed to minimise identified risks. People were involved in decisions about how their risks were managed and had their freedoms and choices respected.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and they had been recruited safely which included obtaining employment references and carrying out a criminal record check. People were supported by staff who had completed an induction and on-going training to enable them to carry out their roles effectively. Staff were supported and received regular supervision and had opportunities for professional development. Nurses received training than kept their clinical skills up to date.

Medicine had been ordered, stored and administered safely by trained staff. Staff understood the actions needed if a medicine error occurred. When people self-administered their medicine risk assessments were reviewed monthly with them to ensure theirs and other peoples safety. People had access to healthcare when it was needed.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People and their families described staff as caring, kind and patient and we observed relaxed, friendly interactions between people and the staff. Staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s individual communication needs and supported people in ways that enabled them to be involved in decisions and express their wishes. People were involved in decisions about their day to day life’s and had their independence, privacy and dignity respected. People who needed an independent representative to speak on their behalf had access to an advocacy service a complaints procedure was in place and people felt if they used it they would be listened to and actions taken.

People had been involved in decisions about how they would like their care needs met and these were regularly reviewed. Care and support plans provided clear information about people’s care needs and staff understood the actions needed to support people and had been kept up dated with changes. People had their eating and drinking needs met and were offered choices of meals and snacks throughout the day. Information about likes, dislikes, allergies and special diets had been shared with the catering team.

People had opportunities to follow hobbies, interests and keep in touch with family and friends. A monthly activity planner provided details of several activities and reflected peoples hobbies and interests. Links had been made with the local community and people and the staff were involved together in fundraising events. People were actively encouraged to use their skills and talents in contributing to the Belmore Lodge community and played a part in recruitment, buddying new people at the service, health and safety around the home and gathering feedback about the catering.

The culture of the home was open and transparent and people, their families and the staff team felt able to raise issues with the registered manager. Staff spoke positively about their roles and the teamwork and described how they had embraced the organisations values. Communication was effective and ensured people were up to date and felt included.

Quality assurance systems were effective in gathering information that captured the experiences of people using the service and the information was used to improve outcomes for people.