Princess Lodge Care Centre

Updated 1 June 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

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 inspection team consisted of three inspectors and two Experts 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.

Service and service type

Princess Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Princess Lodge is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a manager in post who was in the process of registering with CQC.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection. We looked at notifications received from the provider. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. This ensured we were addressing any areas of concern. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 10 people who used the service and two relatives. Some people living in the home could not verbally give us feedback. As such we looked around the home and observed the way staff interacted with people. We further received feedback from four relatives. We looked at five people's care records and six medicine administration records (MAR). We spoke with 13 members of staff including the area operations manager, the manager, the clinical lead, nurses, carers, the chef, domestic staff and activities coordinator. We reviewed a range of records relating to people's care and the way the service was managed. These included staff training records, five staff recruitment files, quality assurance audits, incidents and accidents reports, complaints records, and records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 1 June 2022

About the service

Princess Lodge is a purpose-built residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 59 people. The service provides support to older people some of whom living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 51 people living at the service.

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

People living at Princess Lodge received safe care from skilled and knowledgeable staff. Staff knew and were confident on how to identify and report any concerns.

Risks to people's safety and well-being were managed through a risk management process. Peoples care plans provided staff with the information they needed to manage the identified risks.

Recruitment checks were robust to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults and staffing arrangements met people's needs. There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people's needs. The home was using agency staff to ensure continued safety. The provider was continuously recruiting using several staff recruitment and retention initiatives.

Medicines were managed safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed. The provider had an electronic self-auditing system which allowed safe management of all aspects of medicines. Staff had the necessary skills to carry out their roles. Staff had regular training and opportunities for regular supervision and observations of their work performance.

People and relatives told us staff were caring. Staff did all they could to promote people’s independence and we saw examples of this. People had access to other healthcare services, ensuring a holistic level of support was provided.

During this inspection we carried out a separate thematic probe, which asked questions of the provider, people and their relatives, about the quality of oral health care support and access to dentists, for people living in the care home. This was to follow up on the findings and recommendations from our national report on oral healthcare in care homes that was published in 2019 called ‘Smiling Matters’. We will publish a follow up report to the 2019 'Smiling Matters' report, with up to date findings and recommendations about oral health, in due course.

The manager and staff demonstrated a commitment to people and displayed strong person-centred values. 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. Staff had a particularly good understanding of when the principles of the Mental Capacity Act should be applied. People were supported to meet their nutritional needs and complimented the food at the home.

The home was well-led by a new manager who was committed to continue improving people’s quality of life. They and the provider had identified areas of improvement which they were already working through to ensure high quality of care. The service had a clear management and staffing structure in place and staff worked well as a team. The provider had effective quality assurance systems in place that they used to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Staff worked well with external social and health care professionals.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 11 December 2020.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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, which will help inform when we next inspect.