Kings Lodge

Updated 9 January 2021

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.

As part of the inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practise we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of three inspectors.

Service and service type

Kings Lodge Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a 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. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, assistant manager, senior care workers and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records as well as rotas and contingency plans. We spoke with two further relatives about their experience of the care provided.

Updated 9 January 2021

About the service

Kings Lodge is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 62 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 64 people. The care home accommodates people in one adapted building across four separate wings, each of which has separate adapted facilities. One of the wings specialises in nursing care and another specialises in providing care to people living with dementia.

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

People felt safe living at Kings Lodge and were supported by staff who had been trained in safeguarding and how to identify different types of abuse. People received their medicines in a safe way by staff that were trained in this area and subject to regular competency checks.

Risks to people were identified, assessed, monitored and managed. Risk assessments set clear guidance for staff to follow to ensure risks were mitigated as much as possible. Accidents and incidents were analysed and acted upon to reduce future reoccurrence.

People were kept safe from the risk of spread of infection wherever possible and additional cleaning schedules and audits had been introduced to reduce infection risk around Covid-19.

Staff and people told us that the management team included them in decisions regarding the running of the home. The registered manager and assistant manager worked well together to ensure staff felt valued and respected.

Regular staff meetings continued through the pandemic and regular feedback was requested from people living in the home. The home worked well with other health and social care professionals.

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 14 January 2020).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about safeguarding. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

The overall rating for the service has remained the same. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Kings Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.