Benham Lodge

Updated 8 December 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.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 2 inspectors.

Service and service type

Benham 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. Benham 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

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We contacted and received feedbacks from healthcare professionals about the service. We contacted Healthwatch (Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England). Healthwatch confirmed that they had not received any comments, concerns, compliments or complaints regarding this service.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with 3 support workers and the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people's care records and health care records. We also looked at 3 staff files including their recruitment and supervision records. We reviewed records relating to the management of the service, quality assurance records and a variety of policies and procedures implemented by the provider.

Updated 8 December 2023

About the service

Benham Lodge is a residential care home providing personal care and support for up to 9 people who have a diagnosis of learning disability and autism. At the time of our inspection there were 8 people using the service.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessment and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support

The 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.

Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life.

People were supported by staff to pursue their interests. Staff supported people to achieve their aspirations and goals.

Right Care

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs.

Staff understood how to protect the person from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.

People who had individual ways of communicating, using body language, sounds, pictures and symbols could interact comfortably with staff and others involved in their care and support because staff had the necessary skills to understand them.

Right Culture

People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff.

Staff placed the people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did.

People and those important to them, including advocates, were involved in planning their care.

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 5 December 2020.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Follow Up

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