Forest Lodge Care Home

On this page

• 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

The service was well-led. There was a registered manager in place who was supported in the running of the service by a deputy manager. Both of them were registered nurses. Staff spoke positively about the senior staff, describing them as helpful and approachable. Various quality assurance and monitoring systems were in place to help drive improvements at the service. The provider worked well with other agencies, such as local authorities.

This service scored 64 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider told us how they canvassed staff opinions in February 2024. Staff stated they felt their work was meaningful and that it had a positive impact upon the wider community. Staff talked of a positive culture within the home and of a Manager who they could approach and who would listen.

The provider promoted a shared direction and culture. Various methods were used to produce this. For example, meetings were held for the whole staff team, and for different groups within the staff team, such as the nurses. This enabled information to be shared and gave all parties the opportunity to raise issues of importance to them.

We did not look at Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders during this assessment. There is no score yet for this quality statement for Well-led.

Staff told us about the providers whistleblowing policy and how they would use it if they felt they had to. The Manager and staff told us that they felt well supported and told us they felt confident that they could speak up, using the policy if they had to.

During our visit we reviewed complaints over the last year. We found evidence that these were followed up appropriately with learning and actions documented. We received feedback from relatives they knew who to approach if they needed to raise a concern. A relative told us, “Anything I have raised is dealt with immediately.” The provider had a Whistleblowing policy in place which outlined how staff could raise concerns about the service.

Staff told us about the range of training courses they had access to help them do their jobs and to enhance their development. The manager told us there were regular team meetings where staff could contribute their ideas to the running of the home. The provider shared their staff feedback with us which demonstrated their commitment to listening to their employees.

We saw evidence from meeting minutes that Equality and Diversity was a standard item on meeting agendas. This included information around planning for people’s cultural needs and preferences. All staff had completed up to date Equality and Diversity training. During our visit we saw that diversity was celebrated in various ways such as events and parties.

The Manager told us about the range of checking systems in place to ensure consistency in practice. Checks were carried out regularly by staff and we heard that this was supported by the providers quality team who visited frequently.

The provider had various quality assurance and monitoring systems in place. A compliance officer was employed who regularly visited the service to carry out monitoring checks. These included a 3 monthly ‘Comprehensive Compliance Inspection’ which were broadly in line with CQC comprehensive assessments. The reports from these inspections were passed to the registered manager to address any required actions, and these were then followed up at the next inspection. Various audits are also carried out, including audits of people’s finances, care plans and environmental checks.

People told us that they were supported by the service who worked in partnership with them. One person said’ “[Registered manager] seems nice and knows me.”

The Manager told us that people were supported to access all of the amenities the community had to offer and staff supported people with this. This included shops, banks, places of worship and a community gardening project.

We spoke with the host local authority about this service as part of our assessment. They told us they worked well in partnership with the provider, and that the provider responded positively to feedback, and made changes to their service where necessary.

The provider had systems and processes in place for working in partnership with other agencies. For example, they had regular contact with various local authorities, both the host local authority and others who commissioned care with the service. The provider had good links with health care services, for example, the GP carried out a weekly round. Relatives also told us they were kept updated and informed with development at the service. Relatives were also welcome to visit the service. We noted that the service had arranged a Christmas party for the day after our inspection, for which they had booked an entertainer, and relatives had been invited.

The Manager told us learning was shared in the team. We also heard how the service had an improvement plan, identifying areas for improvement. As well as mandatory training we heard that the provider has developed specific training relating to Autism and Dementia.

We saw evidence of a culture of learning within the home. We saw training that staff had completed, and we heard how they valued this to carry out their duties. We saw that the home sought to learn from things that went wrong and evidence that learning was a feature within team meetings.