High Lodge Care Home

Updated 17 March 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection visit took place on the 20 February 2018 and was unannounced. The inspection visit was carried out by one inspector and an expert by experience. The expert by experience had knowledge of care services including this type of service. We checked the information we held about the service and the provider. This included notifications the provider had sent to us about significant events at the service. We used this to formulate our inspection plan. We also used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We spent time observing care and support in the communal area. We observed how staff interacted with people who used the service. We spoke with four people who used the service and three relatives. We also spoke with two members of care staff, the deputy manager and the registered manager. We did this to gain people's views about the care and to check that standards of care were being met.

We looked at the care records for five people. We checked that the care they received matched the information in their records. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service, including quality checks and staff files.

Updated 17 March 2018

High Lodge is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and 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. High Lodge is registered to accommodate 29 people in one building. At the time of our inspection 21 people were using the service. High Lodge accommodates people in one building and support is provided on two floors. There are two communal lounges, a dining area and a garden that people can access. Some of the people living here have dementia.

At our last inspection on 26 January 2016 we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

There is a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People continued to receive safe care. People remained safe and risks to people were considered and reviewed when needed. Staff understood safeguarding and when needed referrals were made to the relevant people. Learning logs were completed by the provider so that when things went wrong lessons could be learnt. There were enough staff available and medicines were managed in a safe way. Infection control procedures were followed.

People continued to receive effective care. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible. People enjoyed the food available and were offered a choice. Staff were supported and trained to ensure that they had the skills to support people effectively. When needed people received support from health professionals. The home was adapted and decorated to meet people needs and had decoration and signage to support people living with dementia.

People continued to be supported in a caring way. People’s privacy and dignity was maintained. People were encouraged to be independent and supported in a kind and caring way by staff they were happy with.

People continued to receive responsive care. People received their care that was responsive to their needs and their preferences were considered. Compliant procedures were in place and followed when needed. People had the opportunity to participate in activities they enjoyed. When people were in need of end of life care they received the support in line with their wishes.

The service remained well led. People, relatives and staff were asked for their feedback on the quality of the service. Quality assurance systems were in place to identify where improvements could be made and when needed these changes were made. There was a registered manager in place who notified us of significant events that occurred within the home.