Pentree Lodge Residential Care Home

Updated 17 July 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 took place on 19 June 2018 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector and a specialist advisor with a background in mental health.

Before the inspection we reviewed previous inspection reports and other information we held about the home including any notifications. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

We looked around the premises and observed staff interactions with people. We met with the people living at the service, the registered manager and two members of staff. We looked at detailed care records for four individuals, staff training records, three staff files and other records relating to the running of the service. Following the inspection visit we spoke with a further member of staff, three relatives and an external healthcare professional to hear their views of the service.

Updated 17 July 2018

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of Pentree Lodge on 19 June 2018. The previous comprehensive inspection took place on 23 March 2016. At that time we had concerns about the processes in place to ensure any restrictions in place were made in line with legislation and we issued a breach of the regulations. We carried out a focused inspection in January 2017 when we found action had been taken to address the concerns. The service was rated Good overall.

At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Pentree Lodge is a care home which provides accommodation for up to 15 people with mental health needs who require personal care. At the time of the inspection 14 people were using the service.

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 requires a registered manager and there was one in post at the time of the inspection. 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. Following the inspection visit we were informed the registered manager had left the service with immediate effect. The provider gave us assurances about the arrangements in place to help ensure the smooth running of the service.

Where risks were identified, action was taken to protect people from harm while allowing people to continue to live independent lives. Staff were aware of their responsibilities under safeguarding and took these seriously. They were able to describe to us the action they would take to keep people safe.

Staff were sympathetic and compassionate in their approach to people. The registered manager had a clear set of values which were known to the staff team. Staffing levels were consistently met. One person had no references in place and we have made a recommendation about this in the report.

Roles and responsibilities were clearly defined and understood by all. Systems for communicating about changes in people’s needs were effective. Staff were supported by a thorough system of induction, training, supervision and staff meetings.

Family contact was valued and encouraged. Relatives told us they were kept informed of any changes and were invited to take part in care plan reviews.

Care plans were detailed and informative. Staff recorded information about how people spent their time and their health and emotional well-being in daily logs.

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.

There were a range of quality assurance systems in place to monitor the standards of the care provided. Audits were carried out regularly by the registered manager, staff and the provider.