George Mason Lodge

Updated 19 October 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 1 inspector.

Service and service type

George Mason 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. George Mason Lodge Care Home 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

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. 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 also reviewed notifications that the registered provider had sent to us since the last 6 months. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included 10 people's care records, staff files, training records, risk assessments and satisfaction surveys. We also looked at audits and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

We spoke with 10 people during our inspection and 5 relatives by telephone to obtain their views of the service. We also spoke to 8 care members of staff and the chef during our inspection, to ask them questions about their roles.

Updated 19 October 2023

About the service

George Mason Lodge is a care home registered to provide accommodation, personal care and support for up to 39 people, some of whom were living with dementia and mental health illness. At the time of our inspection, 37 people were living in the home.

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

People told us the care they received was good, and staff treated them with dignity and respect. People and their relatives spoke positively about staff being kind and caring. People's diversity and individual needs were respected by staff.

The staff team were knowledgeable about people’s support needs and knew them well, which meant that staff were able to deliver personalised care and support to people. People were supported to maintain contact with relatives and friends. The service had a range of appropriate activities people could be involved in. Staff demonstrated they knew how to raise safeguarding concerns and were aware of the processes to follow in order to keep people safe. People told us they felt safe.

Care and support plans were developed to ensure people's needs and risks were met appropriately. Risk assessments were in place to guide staff to help people manage their identified risks. The service supported people to take positive risk taking.

The provider had appropriate staffing levels in place to ensure people's needs were met in a safe and consistent way. The service followed safe practices for infection prevention and control procedures to keep people safe. The administration of medicines was managed in a safe way and people received their medicines as prescribed.

Staff were provided with the right training and support to make sure they could carry out their roles appropriately. The service worked and communicated with other professionals in the health and social care sector. People's health care needs were being met and they had access to healthcare services where needed.

People were supported to have choice and control of their lives as much as possible. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way and in their best interests. The service had up to date policies and procedures in place to manage and respond to complaints and concerns.

The provider had comprehensive and effective governance system in place. People, relatives and staff were confident about approaching the registered manager if they needed to. A wide range of comprehensive audits took place to ensure the quality of the service was maintained.

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 inspection for this service was rated good (published 17 March 2021).

Why we inspected

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

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.

Follow up

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