Archived: Staddon Lodge

Staddon Lodge provides accommodation and personal care for up to 12 older people in a small homely environment. At the time of the inspection there were 12 people living at the home.

There was a registered manager at the home 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.

Overall, there were high satisfaction levels about the way people were nursed and cared for.

People felt safe living at the home and there were established monitoring and auditing systems to make sure that the environment and way people were looked after were safe. Risk assessments had been completed to make sure that care and nursing was delivered safely with action taken to minimise identified hazards. The premises had also been risk assessed to make that the environment was safe for people.

Staff had been trained in safeguarding adults and were knowledgeable about the types of abuse and how take action if they had concerns.

Accidents and incidents were monitored to look for any trends where action could be taken to reduce chance of their recurrence.

Sufficient staff were employed at the home to meet the needs of people accommodated.

There were recruitment systems in place to make sure that suitable, qualified staff were employed at the home. Misunderstanding of the Regulations had led to one member of staff being recruited before all the required checks had taken place.

Improvements implemented before the completion of the inspection should ensure safer medication administration in the home to address some potential risks that were identified.

The staff team were both knowledgeable and well.

There were good communication systems in place to make sure that staff were kept up to date with any changes in people’s routines or care requirements.

Staff were well-supported through supervision sessions with a line manager, an annual performance review and also direct supervision from the manager or deputy who often worked alongside other staff in delivering people’s care.

Staff and the registered manager were aware of the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and acted in people’s best interest where people lacked capacity to consent. The majority of people accommodated had capacity to make their own decisions for all aspects of their lives and they were all consulted with consent given with regards to their care and support.

The home was compliant with the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards with appropriate referrals being made to the local authority.

People were provided with a good standard of food, appropriate to their needs.

People and staff were very positive about the standards of care provided at Staddon Lodge. People were treated compassionately as individuals with staff knowing people’s needs.

People’s care needs had been thoroughly assessed and care plans put in place to inform staff of how to care for people. The plans were person centred and covered all areas of people’s needs. The plans we looked at in depth were up to date and accurate.

There was good evidence of the staff and registered manger taking action when people’s needs changed or responding to newly assessed needs.

Some communal activities were arranged as well as individualised activities to keep people meaningfully occupied.

There were complaint systems in place and people were aware of how to make a complaint. None had been raised since out last inspection of the home in December 2013.

Should people need to transfer to another service, systems were in place to make sure that important information would be passed on so that people could experience continuity of care.

The home was well-led. There was a very positive, open culture in the home with staff proud of how they supported people.

There were systems in place to audit and monitor the quality of service provided to people.

People who use the service told us that they liked living at the home and that the service met their needs. People told us that staff were kind and caring and that there was always someone around to provide help and support. Comments included the following: "I am very fortunate to be here", and, "The staff so helpful, they take our dirty washing and bring it back the same day nicely laundered and folded".

We made observations throughout the visit and saw people being addressed in a respectful manner. We saw a staff member discreetly offer personal care support to someone, this was done in such a way that respected her dignity throughout.

We looked at people's individual care plans and saw that the information recorded enabled staff to plan and deliver the required level of care and support on an individual basis.

Staff had received safeguarding training and were able to say what action they would take if concerns were raised or observed.

We found that there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs. On the day of the inspection there were two staff plus a cook and the manager on duty.

We saw that regular audits of the service were completed by the provider ensuring that people who used the service benefit from a service that monitors the quality of care that people received.

People living at Staddon Lodge were positive about living at the home. One person told us 'I like living here and I have the support I need', another person said 'I wouldn't change a thing, the staff are great'.

People told us that they were involved in decision making and the staff would ask them if they required support and respected their decisions. People told us they were always offered choice giving examples such as meals, drinks, what time they would like to wake up. People told us they could choose to live how they liked and the staff respected their wishes.

We saw that people experienced safe and effective care based on detailed care plans and risk assessments that met individual needs.

We found that staff received ongoing training and supervision that provided them with the skills to meet the needs of the people they were caring for.

We found that the provider had an effective system complaints process in place. We found that complaints were investigated and resolved promptly.