Archived: Eleanor Lodge

Updated 19 January 2018

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This was a comprehensive inspection that took place unannounced on 13 November 2017.

The inspection team consisted of an inspection manager, an 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. Our expert by experience had experience of learning disability.

Before our inspection visit we reviewed the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We looked at information received from local authority commissioners. Commissioners are responsible for finding appropriate care and support services for people. This told us that the commissioners had no concerns about the service.

We reviewed the provider’s statement of purpose; this is a document which includes a standard required set of information about a service. We also reviewed the notifications submitted to us; these are changes, events or incidents that providers must tell us about.

We spoke with six people who were using the service. We looked at the care records of four people.

We also spoke with the registered manager, the principal care manager from the provider’s head office who was visiting the service and six care workers. We looked at a staff recruitment file. We also looked at records relating to all aspects of the service including care, staffing, training and quality assurance.

Updated 19 January 2018

This inspection took place unannounced on 13 November 2017. At out last inspection on 25 October 2015 the service was rated good. At this inspection we found the service remained good.

Eleanor Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as 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 provides respite care and short term accommodation and support for people to become more independent. Up to 18 people can be accommodated at the service. At the time of our inspection 12 people were using the service. Eleanor Lodge is purpose built to provide care suitable for people’s needs. It is located in a residential area of Northampton.

The service has a registered manager. This is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

All the people we spoke with said they felt safe at Eleanor Lodge. Staff supported people to be as independent as they wanted to be and protected them from risks to their safety. Staff were trained in protecting people from abuse and understood their responsibilities to keep people safe.

There were enough staff to keep people safe and to support them with activities. The provider’s recruitment procedures ensured as far as possible that only staff suited to work at the service were employed.

People received their medicines at the right times and arrangements for the management of medicines were safe.

The premises were clean and hygienic. Staff practised effective infection control.

People’s choices were respected and they were not restricted in any way. People spent their time the way they wanted. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The service ensured peoples human rights were protected and respected and people their cultural needs were promoted.

Staff completed a range of training to help ensure they had the skills and knowledge they needed to provide effective care. The registered manager and staff had a working knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and understood the importance of people consenting to their care.

People told us they enjoyed their meals. People had a choice of meals and people’s cultural preferences for food were catered for.

Eleanor Lodge was decorated to people’s taste and their personal accommodation was personalised.

People told us the staff were caring and kind. Staff communicated with people in a positive and compassionate manner and in ways that met people’s communication needs. People’s views were sought and acted upon. People were treated with dignity and their privacy was respected.

People consistently experienced care and support that was planned to meet their present and future needs. People experienced positive outcomes as a result of the support they received.

The registered manager and staff shared the same vision which placed people using the service at the centre of decision making. Staff were motivated and were encouraged to contribute to the continuous development and improvement of the service. The service worked closely in partnership with other services to support people to achieve their aspirations.