The Lodge Care Home

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• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

We found there was effective systems in place to quality assure the services provided, manage risks and drive improvement. People and their relatives were encouraged to contact the registered manager if they had any issues, and this helped to ensure the service ran smoothly. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities and had access to policies and procedures to inform and guide them. The management team had good links with a number of health and social care professionals, and this helped to ensure people’s needs were fully met. They undertook regular audits to monitor the quality of the service they provided.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

We heard from staff that in the year since the current provider had been running the home there was a greater sense of direction and togetherness and as a result the people receiving care were reaping the benefits. Staff told us how the managers were approachable and supportive and kept them informed of developments.

The provider shared with us some of their processes of how they ensured staff were on board with the organisations intended direction. We saw minutes of meetings including one aimed at senior staff which covered topics such as embedding good practice amongst staff. During our visit, we received a number of comments from the management, people living in the home, and from families complimenting the positive culture that could now be felt within the home since the new provider had been delivering the service.

Staff told us they liked working for the service. They told us the management team were always very helpful and they felt supported. For example, one staff member told us, “Having a supportive management team, helps and motivates me to give the best that I can to support people with their care.” The management team knew they had to be open and transparent with the people using their services and their relatives, whether or not something had gone wrong.

We saw staff received support as part of an ongoing supervision processes which included all levels of key staff delivering care and support to people. We also noted meetings occurring in an ad-hoc way to support staff in ensuring they received the best support and were provided with an opportunity to share information for them to be able to do their jobs.

Staff told us that they felt they were able to give their own opinions and ideas during staff meetings and supervisions. One staff member said, “I have never felt that I am not able to express any concerns to my manager, they always take time to listen to me.”

As part of our assessment, we saw a survey the provider had undertaken in March 2024 of its staff. 98% of staff fed back that they understood how their work contributed to the success of the care home. Of the 29 staff that responded 86% said they were provided with the correct information to help them do their jobs. Of those consulted 50% said they did not feel consulted in the daily running of the home whilst 40% of respondents said they were given constructive feedback on their performances. As part of this survey the management had reflected on the results and had drawn up and action planning over the coming year to make the work more inclusive for all concerned.

Staff told us that they felt the organisation considered everyone’s individuality. This was done by attending training and part of staff induction was as well as being listened to in supervisions and appraisals and staff meetings.

The provider shared their recruitment policy and procedures with us which were in great detail. The policy included ‘making reasonable adjustments’ for a prospective employee if they themselves have a disability. This meant the employer would take any additional needs of an employee into account if they were employed by the provider. The employer also stated within its policy that it worked within the framework of the equalities act 2010.

The provider shared with us a comprehensive improvement plan for the service. The plan had identified actions in all aspects of the home relating to the people living in it as well as the building itself. The plan covered general as well as specific training requirements that were associated with an ageing group of people. The plan identified the area of improvement required, the actions needed, target dates for completion and evidence that it had been completed. We saw weekly audit reports prepared by the home’s manager, reporting to their senior management team. These reports gave a wide-ranging view of aspects picked up through the course of a week which included staff sickness issues, accidents and incidents, hospital admissions and safeguarding matters.

At the last inspection we found that the quality assurance systems were not effective to monitor the safety of the home. Audits and quality assurance systems had not identified that people were not always receiving and experiencing high quality care and achieving positive outcomes. During this inspection, we found the management team undertook regular audits to monitor the quality of the service they provided. There was evidence that where any improvement was identified, appropriate actions were taken and followed up. This meant people could be confident the quality of the service was being assessed and monitored. We noted during our visit that the provider reviewed each care plan and its relevant documents on a monthly basis. This included a comprehensive review of all aspects of support to ensure that all information was current to the needs of each person.

As part of our assessment, we spoke with a range of partners who had links to the home. We spoke with colleagues in the NHS who delivered training to the service which aimed to reduce the number of such things as falls and unnecessary admissions into hospitals. Additionally, we spoke with the GP from the local practice which was connected to the home. We also learnt that the home was a member of the local care association which was a forum for care providers to meet to share ideas. The provider also informed us about the relationship they had established with a similar home within the local area which would enable them to call on such services for help if required.

Staff told us the importance of working in partnership with other people like GPs and operational health professionals. One staff member said, “It is important to have a positive relationship with outside organisations as when we support people to see their GP, it is important that adjustments are made to be able to make a person for comfortable.”

During our assessment we spoke with the home’s GP who was visiting. They told us of their long association with the home as their GP. They mentioned that they were impressed with the staff and management of the home, telling us of the home’s responsiveness to people’s health and their in-depth knowledge of each person they supported.

The provider told us how they were part of the local care association. This was a group of different care providers, health and social care professionals who came together to support one another and share good practice with one another.

Staff told us that they were able to improve their skills and learning as the management encouraged them to develop their skills and understanding which helped to ensure that people received the right care.

During our visit the provider shared their improvement action plan with us. Within the plan we saw the provider was planning to install raised flower beds to make them more accessible for people who would struggle to get near to them. The provider had recently completed an extension to their car park to make parking more accessible to staff and visitors to the home. We saw during our visit the extensive work the provider had undertaken in replacing floor coverings. In the majority of areas heavy carpeting had been replaced by a more appropriate washable, bright flooring. The provider had plans to move to a more paper free way of working. They told us that they had already embarked on transferring all of their records to an electronic system. There were also plans to replace bedding, new lounge chairs and redevelop the laundry facilities. We saw a shower room had been refurbished making it more accessible to people. The plan also mentioned work around accessing further training for people with dementia which included hiring a mobile dementia service to visit the home to offer training to staff.