Brandon Lodge Care Home

Updated 22 October 2021

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.

As part of CQC's response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 30 September 2021 and was unannounced.

Updated 22 October 2021

Brandon Lodge Care Home is a care home providing both nursing and personal care to people. The service accommodates up to 38 people with a range of needs including some living with a dementia. At the time of inspection 34 people were living at the service.

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

Assessments were not always carried out in a timely manner and changes in people’s needs was not always communicated to staff who needed the information. These issues had not formed part of the current audits and so had not been identified. The registered manager put solutions in place to address the matter immediately.

People told us they felt safe at the service. Risks to people were identified and managed. Health and safety checks were carried out regularly ensuring people had a safe environment. The provider continued to follow safe recruitment practices and ensured people were protected against the employment of unsuitable staff. Sufficient staff were deployed to meet people’s care and support needs.

Staff treated people with dignity and respect and supported people to be as independent as possible. People were supported by staff who knew them well. We observed kind and affectionate interactions between staff and people.

Staff were motivated to provide good personalised care, treating people as individuals. People and relatives spoke positively about the registered manager and care staff. Staff worked well together and were happy working at the service.

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 and relatives told us they knew how to complain but had no concerns. The service regularly sought feedback from people, relatives and healthcare professionals.

The provider used information from complaints, safeguarding concerns and accidents and incidents to drive improvement and to learn when things went wrong.

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 this service was good (Published 29 March 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.