We carried out a review of the data available to us about Shepherds Lodge Residential Home on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Shepherds Lodge Residential Home, you can give feedback on this service.
About the service
Shepherds Lodge Residential Home provides accommodation and personal care to up to 6 people who have a learning disability and/or autism or mental health needs. There were 4 people living in the home when we inspected. Accommodation is provided in single bedrooms over two floors. There are four bedrooms on the first floor of the home and two bedrooms on the ground floor of the property. The home has a range of communal areas that people share.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support:
People had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life because staff focused on their strengths and promoted what they could do. The registered manager and staff understood the importance of supporting people to gain skills and independence.
Staff supported people to follow their interests in the home and in the community. People were supported to be active members of their community. Staff adapted how they supported people to follow activities as their needs and interests changed.
People’s access to activities had been restricted during the COVID-19 pandemic. As restrictions were eased following the pandemic, the registered manager had advocated for people to be able to return to activities they enjoyed.
People had a choice about their living environment and were able to personalise their rooms. The service gave people care and support in a safe, clean, comfortable and homely environment that met their sensory and physical needs.
Staff enabled people to access routine and specialist health and social care support to ensure their health and wellbeing. They gave people the support they needed to take their medicines and maintain their health.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. They communicated with people in ways that met their needs.
Right Care:
People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They knew people well and understood and responded to their individual needs.
People were safe and protected from abuse. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.
The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. People liked the staff who supported them.
People could communicate with staff and understand information given to them because staff supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs. People who had individual ways of communicating could interact comfortably with staff because staff had the experience and skills to understand them.
People’s care and support plans reflected their range of needs. Staff knew people very well and knew the support they needed. People’s wellbeing was promoted because staff knew what was important to them.
Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face. Where appropriate, staff encouraged and enabled people to take positive risks.
Right Culture:
People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the management and staff. Staff ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised so that people received support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity.
People were supported by staff who understood best practice in relation to the wide range of strengths, impairments or sensitivities people with a learning disability and/or autistic people may have. This meant people received compassionate and empowering care that was tailored to their needs.
People, and those important to them, were involved in planning their care. Staff knew how to give people choices about their lives and respected the decisions they made.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 12 October 2017).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
The rating for the service had not been reviewed since the inspection in 2017. We undertook a focused inspection to check people continued to receive safe and high-quality care. We reviewed the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
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.
The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Shepherds Lodge Residential Home 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.
We found the following examples of good practice.
The registered manager had robust systems to prevent people entering the home spreading infection. People had to provide evidence of a negative Lateral Flow Device COVID-19 test taken on the day of their visit. People also had to show evidence of their COVID-19 vaccination status, where this was legally required.
Staff ensured people entering the home were provided with appropriate Personal Protective Equipment, (PPE).
Staff had been trained in how to put on and remove PPE safely.
The registered manager had supported safe visiting in the home and in the community. They had recognised people’s anxiety levels had increased during the pandemic. Staff gave people reassurance to enable them to access the community.
The service had been responsive to people’s changing needs. The registered manager had adapted the accommodation provided to ensure it continued to meet people’s needs.
The registered manager had arranged furniture in communal areas to support social distancing. Staff gave people guidance about maintaining their safety.
People who lived in the home and staff carried out regular testing for COVID-19, in line with government guidance.
The registered manager had worked with other services to ensure people who lived in the home and staff had access to COVID-19 vaccines and booster doses.
The registered manager had made an active decision not to admit anyone to the service during the pandemic. They were aware of the steps to follow to ensure any new admissions were safe and in line with government guidance.
The registered manager and staff had been flexible in their approach during the pandemic. They had worked together to keep people safe and well cared for.
Shepherds Lodge Residential Home provides accommodation and personal care for up to six people who have a learning disability or mental health needs. The home is in a residential area of Barrow in Furness. Accommodation is provided in single bedrooms over two floors. There are five bedrooms on the first floor of the home and one bedroom on the ground floor of the property. The home has a range of communal areas that people living there share.
There was a registered employed to oversee the day-to-day running of the home. 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.
At our last inspection of the home on 25 February and 5 March 2015, the service was rated as good. The service was meeting the fundamental standards of quality and safety. However we found one aspect of how the service was responsive to people’s needs required improving. Some people who lived in the home required support from staff to manage their behaviour. People’s care plans had not included guidance for staff in how to support an individual if a strategy to assist them to manage their behaviour was not effective. The lack of clear guidance could have led to staff members taking inappropriate action which would not respect a person’s rights.
At this inspection in October 2017 we found the service remained good. People’s care plans and the strategies to support them to manage their behaviour had been reviewed and included advice from appropriate specialist services. The staff had guidance and advice about how to support people and how to respect their rights.
People who lived in the home were safe and protected against harm. Hazards to people’s safety had been identified and actions taken to manage the risks identified. People were given information about remaining safe in a way that they could understand. The staff were trained in how to identify and report abuse.
The home was safe for people to live and work in. The premises were checked regularly to ensure they were safe and effective procedures were in place to protect people in the event of a fire.
There were enough staff to provide people’s support. The staff were trained and supported to give them the skills and knowledge to provide individuals’ care.
People were provided with meals and drinks that they enjoyed. People were supported to have a healthy diet and this had helped people to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
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. People were included in decisions about their support and the choices they made were respected.
People were supported by a range of health services and received their medicines as their doctors had prescribed. This helped people to maintain good health.
People were treated in a caring and respectful way and their privacy and dignity were maintained. They were supported to carry out tasks themselves and to develop and maintain their independence.
Care was planned and provided to meet people’s needs. The staff knew people well and provided their support at the time they needed. The staff identified if people were feeling anxious and provided support and reassurance promptly to reduce their anxiety.
The registered manager worked in the home and maintained oversight of the quality and safety of the service. Where the service could be further improved the registered manager had taken action to ensure people received a high quality service.
We carried out this announced inspection on 25 February and 5 March 2015. We last inspected this home in May 2013. At that inspection we found that the provider was meeting all of the regulations that we assessed.
Shepherds Lodge Residential Home provides accommodation and personal care for up to six people who have a learning disability or mental health needs. There are five bedrooms on the first floor of the home and one bedroom on the ground floor of the property. The home has a range of communal facilities which people living there share.
There was a registered manager employed in the home. 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.
People were safe living in this home. However, we found that the strategies used to support people to manage behaviours that challenged the service were not always effective. Care staff did not have written guidance about the action to take if a strategy did not support a person to manage their behaviour. This could lead to staff taking inappropriate action which would not respect a person’s rights.
There were enough staff to provide the care that people needed and to ensure their safety. People who lived in the home were comfortable with the staff who worked there. People told us that they liked the staff and said the staff were “kind” and “nice”. The staff supported people to stay safe in the home and in the local community. Staff had been trained in how to identify and report abuse.
People enjoyed the meals provided in the home and followed a range of activities of their choosing. People were able to maintain relationships with their families and friends.
All the staff who worked in the home had received training to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to provide the support people needed. The staff treated people kindly and took prompt action to support people if they appeared anxious or unhappy.
The staff knew how people communicated their wishes and gave people choices in a way that they could understand.
The registered manager of the home was knowledgeable about the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, (DoLS). People made decisions about their daily lives and about their care and no one was subject to any restrictions on their liberty.
People were supported to see their doctor as they needed. Medicines were handled safely in the home and people received their medication as prescribed by their doctor.
The atmosphere in the home was relaxed, friendly and inclusive. People who lived in the home were asked for their views about the service. The registered manager carried out checks to monitor the quality of the service.
We saw that care staff in the home treated people with respect and supported them to maintain their independence. We observed that people who could not easily express their views were confident and comfortable around the staff working in the home.
People we spoke with said they took part in a variety of activities which they chose and which they enjoyed.
People who lived in the home told us,
'I like it here',
'The staff are nice',
And one person said, 'The meals are nice'.
Some people who lived in the home could not easily express their views about their care or the services provided. We observed people in communal areas of the home and saw people were treated in a manner which respected their dignity, independence and rights. We saw that people were comfortable and confident with the staff on duty and appeared well cared for.