Archived: Norton Lees Hall and Lodge

Updated 6 January 2021

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.

The service had been identified for use by the Local Authority as a designated care setting in response to the Winter Plan for people discharged from hospital with a positive Covid-19 status. This targeted inspection was to ensure that the service was compliant with infection control and prevention measures.

This inspection took place on 21 December 2020 and was announced.

Updated 6 January 2021

About the service

Norton Lees Hall and Lodge is a care home providing accommodation and personal care to older people, some of home are living with dementia. The service can accommodate up to 80 people in a purpose-built facility over two floors and four wings, each with a separate dining room and lounge. At the time of this inspection there were 30 people living at Norton Lees Hall and Lodge in two of the wings.

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

Medicines were stored safely. People received their medicines as prescribed. We have made a recommendation the provider and registered manager consider best practice guidance regarding fluid thickeners.

People’s relatives told us they felt their family member was safe living at Norton Lees Hall and Lodge. Staff understood what it meant to protect people from abuse. They told us they were confident any concerns they raised would be taken seriously by their managers.

Staff received the training and support they needed to undertake their jobs effectively. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People enjoyed the food served at Norton Lees Hall and Lodge, which considered their dietary needs and preferences. People were supported to access relevant health and social care professionals in a timely way to ensure they were getting the care and support they needed. People were supported by caring staff who knew them well.

The service was well-led. Comments about the registered manager were positive. Staff were asked for their views on the service at regular meetings. There were plans to also introduce regular meetings for relatives and residents. There were effective systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided.

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 24 October 2019) and there were four breaches of regulations. 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 comprehensive inspection of this service on 21 and 23 August 2019. Four breaches of legal requirements were found regarding fit and proper persons employed, safe care and treatment, staffing, and good governance. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

We undertook this focused inspection to check the provider 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 Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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.

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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Norton Lees Hall and Lodge 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.