Minchenden Lodge

Updated 25 October 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

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

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

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 and formal notifications that the service had sent to the CQC. Notifications are information that registered persons are required to tell us about by law that may affect people’s health and wellbeing.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke nine members of staff including the registered manager, the director of care, the activities coordinator, the chef, a care coordinator and four care staff. We spoke with 11 people living at the home. We also spoke with one healthcare professional and three relatives that were visiting the home at the time of the inspection. We looked at four care records and risk assessments, 21 people’s medicine records, six staff files including supervision and recruitment records, and other paperwork related to the management of the service including staff training, quality assurance and rota systems.

After the inspection

We spoke with two relatives that had requested to speak with us. We also spoke with the director of care for Scimitar Care Hotels.

Updated 25 October 2019

About the service

Minchenden Lodge is a residential care home providing personal care and accommodation for people aged 65 and over, some of whom may be living with dementia. The home can support up to 25 people. At the time of the inspection there were 20 people living at the home.

The home is a large detached building set in a residential area of Southgate, North London. Bedrooms are located across two floors with a well-kept and accessible rear garden.

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

Feedback from people and relatives was overwhelmingly positive. They consistently praised the exceptional caring and supportive nature of the staff at Minchenden Lodge. Staff talked about people being ‘the heart of the home’.

Staff demonstrated a culture of inclusivity and positivity that was evident throughout the home.

Staff constantly looked for ways to improve the service and ensure people received the outstanding care they deserved.

Activities were truly person centred and created an atmosphere of vibrancy and joy. People were encouraged to maintain their independence and interests and were enabled to carry on doing things they had done before moving to the home as well as experiencing new things. Staff collaborated with people and their relatives to make sure they knew about the person's interests and needs so they could have a positive impact on the person's life.

Care was planned to ensure that people were at the heart of everything, people and relatives were consulted. This created a truly holistic and person-centred approach that allowed people to have a as much enjoyment from life as possible.

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.

People were treated with kindness and compassion at the end of their lives. Relatives praised staff understanding and support when people were reaching the end of their lives.

The registered manager actively involved people in staff in making decisions about the home. People were consulted on a day-to day basis about what they wanted to do and how they wanted to receive their care as individuals.

The service was exceptionally well-led. The registered manager demonstrated how their open and supportive management style and robust quality assurance systems promoted a high quality of care that empowered not only people but the staff as well. People and staff told us that they felt truly valued and supported.

More information is in the detailed findings below.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 4 January 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned for future dates.

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