5 March 2014
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Since our last visit we have been in regular contact with the service about the progress it was making to improve the quality of care provided to people living in the home. The service had not admitted any new people. Two inspectors visited Herald Lodge on 5 March 2014 to check the progress made.
The registered manager was no longer working at Herald Lodge. Since our last visit, new management had been working to provide support to people living at the home, and to improve the quality of care.
We spoke with nine people living at the home. They told us they were happy living at Herald Lodge and felt safe. One person said, “It’s a good place really, staff are friendly, meals are fine. I think it has improved lately, especially staffing.”
We spoke with five visiting relatives and a visiting healthcare professional. They were all satisfied with the care and support given by the service. One relative said, “I visit a couple of times a week. X always looks well cared for. The staff are very caring and patient.”
We spoke with eight staff. They told us they felt fully supported and had been given the right training to help them with their work. One member of staff told us, “I love it here…all staff are lovely to work with.”
We observed the care provided by staff and looked at the care records. We saw staff being kind and caring to people.
We looked at the administration of medication. We were satisfied medication was being administered safely.
We checked hygiene and infection control measures. We saw the home was clean, tidy, and staff understood what they needed to do to reduce or prevent infection spreading.