Archived: Pine Lodge

Updated 31 August 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 unannounced inspection which took place on 27 June 2018. The inspection was completed by one inspector.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a 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. The provider returned the PIR however the inspection did not take place until sometime after this and we took this into account when we made judgements in this report.

We reviewed the information we held about the service, including statutory notifications that the provider had sent us. A statutory notification provides information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We also contacted health and social care commissioners who place and monitor the care of people living in the home, and Healthwatch England, the national consumer champion in health and social care to identify if they had any information which may support our inspection.

During our inspection, we spoke with three people who were staying at the service, and one person’s relative. We spoke with three members of care staff and one visiting healthcare professional. We also spoke with the registered manager.

We reviewed three staff files and the care plan documentation for four people. We completed observations of the care that was provided and looked at other information related to the running of and the quality of the service. This included quality assurance audits, training information, handover information, and arrangements for managing complaints.

Updated 31 August 2018

Pine Lodge is a care home for short term breaks and respite care. Pine Lodge primarily supports younger people with learning disabilities or on the autistic spectrum, physical disabilities or mental health needs. It also has two self-contained apartments for people transitioning into independent living. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The inspection was unannounced and took place on 27 June. The provider of this service had recently changed and therefore this was the first comprehensive inspection for this service under the new ownership.

The care service had not originally been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen. However, people were given choices and their independence and participation within the local community encouraged.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager 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.

Improvements were required to ensure that timely action was taken to make the improvements identified by the registered manager, for example, following quality assurance audits that had been completed. Improvements were also required to ensure that statutory notifications were submitted to the CQC in a timely way.

People received safe care and staffing arrangements were flexible to meet the needs of the people that were using the service at any one time. People received their medicines when they were ready and safeguarding incidents were given appropriate attention.

People’s needs were fully considered before they began to use the service to make sure their needs could be met. People's consent was gained before their care was provided. 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.

People were treated with dignity and respect and staff could spend time getting on know people and their preferences. People and their relatives were made to feel welcome at the service, and were involved in making choices about their care.

People had care plans in place which reflected their needs and these were regularly updated. Staff made great efforts to help people achieve their goals or participate in activities that they could enjoy. Complaint procedures were in place for people to make a complaint, should the need arise.