Mere Lodge

Updated 8 February 2022

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 included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements. 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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Mere Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. The registered manager is currently on leave. Therefore, a service manager and operations manager are overseeing the service in their absence.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to manage any risks relating to COVID-19.

Inspection activity started on 20 January 2022 and ended on 26 January 2022. We visited the location’s service on 20 January 2022 and 25 January 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

Most people living at the service were not able to share their views about the care provided. Therefore, we observed staff interactions and support provided in communal areas. We also spoke with two relatives to gain their views of the care provided. During the inspection we spoke to six staff which included; the head of operations, operations manager, service manager, team leader, senior support worker and a support worker.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people's care records, four people’s records in relation to medicines, staff training records, two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision and people's feedback of the service. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 8 February 2022

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 assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

About the service

Mere Lodge is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up four people. The service provides support to people living with a learning disability and mental health conditions. At the time of our inspection there were four people using the service.

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

Right Support

The service supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence be independent and they had control over their own lives. People were supported by staff to pursue their interests. The service worked with people to plan for when they experienced periods of distress so that their freedoms were restricted only if there was no alternative. Staff did everything they could to avoid restraining people. The service recorded when staff restrained people, and staff learned from those incidents and how they might be avoided or reduced. People had a choice about their living environment and were able to personalise their rooms.

Right Care

Staff promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. They understood people’s cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care. Staff understood how to protect people 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. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.

Right culture

People and those important to them, including advocates, were involved in planning their care. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. People received good quality care, support and treatment because trained staff and specialists could meet their needs and wishes.

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 last rating for this service was good (published 30 September 2019). During our last infection prevention and control inspection (published on 30 April 2021), we found the provider to be in breach of a regulation. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

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. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

We carried out an announced inspection of this service on 07 April 2021. A breach of legal requirements was found relating to safe care and treatment.

We undertook this focused inspection to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe 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.

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