Loxley Lodge Care Home

Updated 20 March 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. 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 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.

The site visit was carried out by the inspector and the Expert by Experience contacted relatives and friends of the people, who lived at the care home, to obtain their feedback on the service.

Service and service type

Loxley 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.

At the time of the inspection the service had a manager who had recently applied to be registered with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager, and the provider, are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

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 reviewed feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service. We spoke with seven members of staff including the manager, clinical lead, care staff, administrator, cook, laundry worker, and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We observed the care home environment and how staff supported people. We reviewed four people’s care records and the care home medicine records. We reviewed three staff files, in relation to recruitment records, rotas, and the manager’s quality audit records. We also looked at the infection prevention and control measures which the provider had in place.

After the inspection

We received feedback, by telephone, from 12 relatives and friends of people receiving a service. We also received feedback, by telephone and email, from six staff members and a community healthcare professional. We reviewed staff training data and a variety of the provider's policies and procedures. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 20 March 2021

About the service

Loxley Lodge Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to 22 people at the time of the inspection, including people living with dementia. The service can support up to 42 people. Loxley Lodge Care Home is purpose built and is split over two floors with communal areas on each floor. The provider had created a specific area, containing some of the bedrooms on the upper floor, which could be used by people who needed to be isolated from the rest of the care home for infection control purposes.

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

People were supported by staff who had access to enough personal protective equipment (PPE). However, some staff did not always wear it correctly. Some cleaning tasks, designed to reduce the risk of health infections spreading, were not always carried out regularly.

People lived in a care home which was generally clean and tidy, and areas of the care home were being refurbished. Arrangements were in place to control visits to the care home and regular COVID-19 testing, of people and staff, was carried out.

People’s care plans were in the process of being reviewed and updated. Although staff understood people’s health needs, some care plans contained contradictory information which still needed correcting. People received regular and consistent support with their care needs and were safely supported to use hoists and other equipment.

People were supported by enough staff to meet their care needs, but the provider did not have all the required employment records for some of the newly employed staff. The provider rectified that after the inspection.

People received their prescribed medicines from staff who were appropriately trained, and medicines were safely managed. People were supported by staff who understood how to safeguard them from the risk of abuse or neglect, and knew how to raise the alarm with other agencies, such as the local authority and CQC, if necessary.

The service had improved since the last inspection. People, relatives and staff all spoke positively about the improvements implemented. The management of the service was more open and accessible, and the provider’s quality assurance processes were more effectively implemented. The manager was continuing to make improvements and acted positively to feedback from other agencies about incidents and issues that arose.

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 Requires Improvement (published 2 December 2020) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. 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 unannounced focused inspection of this service on 10 September 2020. Breaches of legal requirements were found, and two Warning Notices were served on the provider in relation to Regulations 12 and 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. 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 and effective governance at the service.

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 of Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection, for those key questions not looked at on this occasion, were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. 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 Loxley Lodge Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.