Gallimore Lodge

Updated 22 June 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type:

Gallimore Lodge is a residential care home. It provides care and support to older people living with a range of learning disabilities and physical disabilities. People in care homes receive accommodation and 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.

Notice of inspection:

We did not give any notice and the inspection was unannounced.

What we did:

Before our inspection, we reviewed the information submitted by the provider in their completed Provider Information Return (PIR). This form asks the provider to give some key information about the service; what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We reviewed information we had received about the service including Notifications. Notifications inform us about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We also looked at information sent to us from other stakeholders such as the local authority and members of the public.

The majority of people who used the service were unable to verbally converse with us due to their complex communication needs. We, therefore used informal observation to evaluate people’s experiences and to help us assess how their needs were being met. We also observed how staff interacted with people. We looked at records in relation to three people’s care.

We spoke with two visiting health care professionals, an independent advocate, the registered manager and two care staff. We looked at records relating to the management of the service, staff recruitment and training, medicines management, complaints and systems for monitoring the quality and safety of the service.

Updated 22 June 2019

About the service: Gallimore Lodge is a residential care home for up to eight people who have severe learning and physical disabilities in the Grays area of Essex. It is a wheelchair accessible bungalow.

People’s experience of using this service:

Gallimore Lodge is a small care home that supports the principles of ‘Registering the Right Support’ and other best practice guidance by enabling people to live as full a life as possible. People were supported to achieve best possible outcomes that included choice and independence.

The service provided a homely and friendly environment. Staff were kind, compassionate and respectful. They demonstrated a good understanding of people’s needs and knew how to communicate with each individual, and reassure them.

Systems and processes were in place to promote people’s safety in the home and when out in the community. Staff had a good working knowledge of how to protect people from potential abuse and promote people’s rights.

The provider had a thorough recruitment and selection process in place to check that staff were suitable to work with people who used the service. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs effectively. Staffing levels were flexible to support people to follow their interests, take part in social activities or attend hospital /GP appointments and follow ups with healthcare professionals.

Staff looked after people’s healthcare needs in a pro-active way. People were provided with choices of food and drink that met their individual needs. Medicines were managed safely.

The provider had effective systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service that people received. Arrangements were in place to routinely listen and learn from people’s experiences, concerns and complaints. There was a strong emphasis on promoting good practice in the service and there was a well-developed understanding of equality, diversity and human rights and management and staff put these into practice. The registered manager inspired confidence in the staff team and led by example.

Rating at last inspection: A rating of ‘Good’ was awarded to this service under the previous provider, Family Mosaic. Following the last inspection Family Mosaic merged with Peabody Trust under the ‘Peabody’ name. The registered manager and the majority of staff remain the same.

Why we inspected: This was the first inspection of the service under the new registered provider, following the merger.

Follow up: We will re-inspect this service within the published time-frame for services rated good or sooner if required. We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk