Pennine Lodge

Updated 26 April 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by an inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Pennine Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Pennine Lodge is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. A new manager had been in post for 3 months and had submitted an application to register. We are currently assessing this application.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people and spoke with 12 relatives for their views. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We spoke with 12 staff including the manager, deputy manager, regional and support managers, nurses, catering and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records including 6 people's care records relating to nutritional health. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed, including staff training records and audits.

Updated 26 April 2023

About the service

Pennine Lodge is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 70 people. At the time of our inspection there were 60 people using the service.

The home has four separate units providing nursing and personal care for people with physical or dementia-related care needs.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The new management team had made changes so there was better oversight of people’s well-being and actions were taken where necessary. Improvements had been made to checking people’s potential risk of poor nutrition. Staff had retraining and there were better systems to about how to support people’s diet.

People and relatives praised the friendly atmosphere in the home. They described the manager and staff as “friendly”, “helpful” and “kind”. The home had a warm and welcoming culture. Staff were engaging with people.

People and relatives said the home was a safe place to live. The home was clean, bright and comfortable. The provider had systems to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff assisted them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service upheld this practice. People said they were encouraged to make their own choices.

Staff worked alongside health and social care agencies to support the well-being of the people who live there.

The management team were open and approachable. Staff said they felt supported by the new management team and said the culture had improved.

The management team carried out checks of the quality and safety of the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 22 September 2022). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced inspection of this service on 25 July 2022. A breach of legal requirement was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Pennine Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.