26 April 2022
During a routine inspection
About the service
South Lodge is a residential care home providing personal care to six people at the time of the inspection. Each person has their own self-contained apartment within the building, and there are also shared communal lounge, dining and kitchen areas. The service can support up to six people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Right Support
The service supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence be independent and they had control over their own lives. Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life.
People were supported by staff to pursue their interests and to achieve their aspirations and goals.
The service worked with people to plan for when they experienced periods of distress so that their freedoms were restricted only if there was no alternative.
The service gave people care and support in a safe, clean, well equipped, well-furnished and well-maintained environment that met their sensory and physical needs. People had a choice about their living environment and were able to personalise their rooms.
Staff supported people to take part in activities and pursue their interests in their local area and to maintain contact with their family and friends.
Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community. Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making.
People were supported to communicate their needs and wishes, with staff using a diverse range of non-verbal communication. This helped ensure people could play a full part in planning their support and care.
Right Care
People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity and promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. They understood and responded to people’s individual needs.
Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.
The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.
People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. People who had individual ways of communicating, using body language, sounds, Makaton (a form of sign language), pictures and symbols could interact comfortably with staff and others involved in their care and support because staff had the necessary skills to understand them.
People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life. People received care that supported their needs and aspirations, was focused on their quality of life, and followed best practice.
People could take part in activities and pursue interests that were tailored to them. The service gave people opportunities to try new activities that enhanced and enriched their lives. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.
Right culture
People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff.
People received good quality care, support and treatment because trained staff could meet their needs and wishes.
People were supported by staff who understood best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments or sensitivities people with a learning disability and/or autistic people may have. This meant people received compassionate and empowering care that was tailored to their needs.
Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did.
People’s quality of life was enhanced by the service’s culture of improvement and inclusivity. Staff ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised so that people received support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
This service was registered with us on 2 July 2020 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support right care right culture.
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.