About the service Albion Lodge is a residential care home providing personal care to 34 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 40 people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were happy with the standard of care and support they received. There were enough staff to support people's care and safety needs. Risks to people had been identified and care was planned to keep people safe while assisting people to continue with their chosen lifestyles.
People's medicines were managed and administered following guidelines and best practice, so people’s safety was promoted. Staff had received training in infection control and knew how to work to reduce the risk of infection and the home environment was well maintained to meet the needs of people living there.
The provider's recruitment and induction arrangements helped ensure new staff were able to support people. There was a good team spirit amongst the staff team who cared about each other and what mattered to people who lived at the home. Staff were well trained and valued the support provided to assist them in their roles.
Staff supported people to make their own choices and decisions in how they were supported. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People enjoyed spending time in their rooms and other places in the home including the library and garden area. The registered manager was keen to make continual improvements to the home environment, so it brought people as much enjoyment as possible and furniture continued to meet people’s needs.
People were supported by staff who had positive attitudes towards their caring roles and provided compassionate care. Staff had developed positive relationships with people and were mindful of people’s diverse needs and customs which were respected. People’s independence, dignity and privacy were valued and maintained by staff.
People had been involved in planning their care and were confident to raise any issues they had with the management and staff team. Care planning was personalised to provide staff with guidance about people's likes and dislikes. People were supported emotionally and physically with a range of things to do for fun and interest which included singing and trips to places of interest. People were supported to be comfortable and pain free at the end of their lives.
People, relatives and staff were encouraged to raise issues around quality and safety at regular meetings. The registered manager was supported by the care manager and staff team. There were ongoing quality checking arrangements in place to support the continuation of improvements where required.
The registered manager promoted the visions and values of the service by embedding an open and inclusive culture where people were at the heart of everything.
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 this service was good (published 05 September 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.