Woodthorpe Lodge

Updated 3 June 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 site visit was completed by one inspector on 24 May 2021. On 25 May 2021, a second inspector completed phone calls to gather feedback on the service.

Service and service type

Woodthorpe 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 manager of the service had applied to become the registered manager of the service. A registered manager and provider mean they 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

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. We gathered feedback from local authority stakeholders and the safeguarding team. We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We gathered verbal feedback over the phone. We spoke with two people who used the service and two relatives about their experiences of the care provided. We spoke with three members of care staff, the deputy manager and the manager. We also spoke with an external professional who has worked with the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included the care records related to three people who use the service and four people’s medicine records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data, recruitment records and changes they had made to medicine processes.

Updated 3 June 2021

About the service

Woodthorpe Lodge is a care home registered to provide personal care for up to eight people who may have a learning disability or a mental health condition. There were five people living in the home at the time of our inspection. However, one person was on home leave.

Woodthorpe Lodge is purpose built and the accommodation is all on the ground floor. The service applied the principles and values of registering the right support, right care and right culture and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

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

There was a lack of clear guidance for when ‘as needed’ medicines would be needed. The provider had recognised these risks in a recent audit and promptly improved the guidance and sent evidence of this . Medicines were safely managed.

People felt safe at the service. Staff knew how to recognise potential abuse and where to report their concerns. They felt confident in the management team to act on any concerns.

People’s care needs were recorded in care plans. This allowed clear guidance for staff to follow to keep people safe. The environment was safe and environmental checks (for example, for fire safety) were regularly made.

There were enough staff to keep people safe. People who required one to one staff support, had this arranged. Staff received suitable training for their roles. Staff spoke highly of the quality of this training.

The inspection was completed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The manager was aware of current government guidance and ensured the service followed this guidance. This included regular cleaning, correct use of personal protective equipment and testing of residents and staff.

Any incidents that occurred at the service were recorded. The management team reviewed these records to ensure lessons were learnt and improvements made if needed.

The service was well led. The previous inspection was rated inadequate, but the management team had created an action plan to undertake the required improvements. This meant the service was no longer in breach of regulation. Staff spoke highly of the management team, and the positive culture it had created.

The management team had worked to improve the service. At the last inspection, there were concerns about a poor culture. The culture was now positive and person centred. This promoted good outcomes for people.

There was good engagement with stakeholders and professionals. There was ongoing work to ensure the service continued to improve.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting and underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. The service encouraged people’s choice, control and independence. There was a positive ethos and care was person centred

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 inadequate (published 7 October 2020).

There were multiple breaches of regulation. We added conditions to the providers registration, requiring them to create and send regular action plans. The provider completed these action plans. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

At the last inspection, this service was put in Special Measures. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

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.