Archived: Alma Lodge

We viewed all areas of the home and saw that it was clean and provided a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere. People's bedrooms were decorated and arranged according to their personal choice.

We looked at people's care plans and documentation and found that these had been thoroughly completed and reflected the care that was being given to people. The staff were aware of how to obtain consent for people who were unable to make complex decisions about their care and treatment.

We found that the staff arranged suitable activities and outings for people, and knew the types of activities that people preferred, and the people that they liked to be with them.

We inspected medication and found that there was safe storage, and reliable administration of medicines to people.

We saw that the home had appropriate equipment in place to care for people, and these items were properly cleaned, checked and serviced.

We found that the home had suitable processes in place for people who wished to make complaints or raise concerns about the service.

The home had implemented detailed systems for recording the care and treatment given to people. Documentation had been appropriately completed and kept up to date.

We saw that people were relaxed with the staff, and that staff were familiar with their different methods of communication and facial expressions. As people living in the home had profound learning disabilities we were unable to have conversations with them, although we met five people who were living there.

We found that there were good processes in place to ensure that staff were kept up to date with changes in people's care needs. The care planning documentation was thorough, and provided clear instructions for staff to follow.

We saw that the home provided a suitable range of foods to enable people to have a varied diet. People were assisted with eating and drinking as needed.

We viewed some staff training records, and saw that staff were kept up to date with mandatory training. Other training was provided to enable staff to carry out their job roles effectively.

The home had monitoring processes in place to assess how the home was progressing. Some of these processes were being developed to make them more effective.