George Davis Lodge

Updated 24 March 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 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 uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is bought or rented and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service.

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 on the first day we attended, 01 February 2023. However, the registered manager was unavailable, so we returned the following day, 02 February 2023, to complete the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we already held about this service. This included details of its registration, previous inspection reports and any notifications of significant incidents the provider had sent us. 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

We spoke with 2 people and 9 relatives about their experience of care. We spoke with 4 members of staff, including 3 care staff and the registered manager. We also spoke with a visiting health care professional. 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 reviewed a range of records. This included 5 people’s care plans and multiple medicines records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 24 March 2023

About the service

George Davis Lodge is registered to provide personal care and support to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing in London Borough of Redbridge. Not everyone who lived in the housing received personal care from the service. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service. People using the service lived in their own flats within a gated community where there were 44 properties. The service was providing personal care to 18 people at the time of the inspection.

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

At our last inspection we had found concerns with medicines management. At this inspection we found medicines were managed safely as improvements had been made with the registered manager following an action plan created at the last inspection. Similarly, improvement had been made to staff completion of training, management supervision of staff and quality assurance processes, both of which we had concerns about at the last inspection.

Staff had received training to safeguard people from potential abuse and the service contacted social workers when concerns arose. Risks to people were recorded and mitigated as much as possible. Staff recruitment processes were robust, and people and relatives were content with staffing levels. Staff had received training in infection prevention and control and incidents and accidents were recorded so lessons were learned.

Staff received support from the provider through induction, training and supervision. People’s needs were assessed before they began using the service so the provider could ensure they could meet their needs. Staff worked alongside other agencies to provide people with effective. This included supporting people with their health care needs. People were supported with their dietary needs. 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 promoted a positive person-centred culture. People’s equality and diversity needs were recorded so staff could support people in culturally sensitive way. The provider had quality assurance measures in place, such as audits and spot checks which sought to assure quality at the service. People and relatives, we spoke with were positive about the service and staff working there. Staff knew their roles.

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

The previous rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 10 June 2021). At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced focused inspection of this service on 15 April 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment, staffing and good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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 changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for George Davis 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.