The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Ambleside Lodge – Redhill, in Surrey inadequate and placed it in special measures to protect people using its services following an inspection in May and June.
CQC inspected the service in part due to concerns received about the safety of people’s care and the management of the service.
Ambleside Lodge – Redhill, a residential care home, provides personal care for autistic people and people with a learning disability. At the time of the inspection six people lived in the home.
Following this inspection, the service’s overall rating, as well as for how safe, responsive and well-led the service is, has dropped from requires improvement to inadequate. The service’s rating for caring has dropped from good to requires improvement and the rating for effective remains as requires improvement.
The service has now been placed in special measures and the CQC has issued three warning notices to focus the provider’s attention on making rapid and widespread improvements to how they are providing safe care and treatment and managing the service. Services in special measures are kept under review by CQC to keep people safe and re-inspected to ensure the improvements are made.
Rebecca Bauers, CQC’s director for people with a learning disability and autistic people, said:
“When we inspected Ambleside Lodge it was disappointing to find leaders weren’t providing a safe environment and had allowed a culture to develop which didn’t put people’s needs at the centre of their care or support them to live meaningful and fulfilled lives.
"It was concerning that staff weren’t always managing or even aware of risks to people's safety, such as whether they needed support to eat safely, how to manage infection prevention and control, as well as acting and reporting on safeguarding issues. Following an incident between two people, we saw one person leave the lounge whenever the other entered. No checks had been put in place to ensure the person felt safe following the incident and their wellbeing hadn’t been monitored, this is unacceptable in a place people call their home.
"We saw that care wasn’t always dignified, areas of the home were dirty, with a build-up of dirt in a cloakroom, one person's mattress smelt strongly of urine and there was saliva on some pictures and windows. We also saw black foam matting, used for garage floors, had been used to pad walls in the hallway, sensory room and above one person's bed.
"Staff didn't support people in the least restrictive way or give them maximum choice and control in their lives. Following the last inspection, we recommended leaders had enough staff available to support people's right to pursue their interests. At this inspection it was concerning to find that where people wanted to do activities, such as singing in the church choir, going to a football match or the pub, they still weren’t supported to follow these interests.
“We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.
CQC has placed the service into special measures in order to focus the provider’s attention on making rapid and widespread improvements. CQC will closely monitor the service during this time to keep people safe and will inspect again to assess if improvements are made.
Inspectors also found:
- Incidents weren’t monitored sufficiently to help staff learn from them to prevent reoccurrences
- People's communication plans weren’t consistently followed by staff
- Staff hadn't received regular or effective supervision in their roles
- People didn’t have regular opportunities to feedback on the running of the service
- Guidance from healthcare professionals, to keep people safe, wasn’t always followed
- People weren’t always supported by well-trained, skilled staff as staff hadn’t always completed their training, and leaders weren’t monitoring this
- People's health care needs weren’t always monitored, and oral health care assessments weren’t routinely completed.
However,
- Staff supervision has been put in place by the new manager
- People's privacy was respected. People were supported with their personal care in privacy.