Carlin Lodge

Carlin Lodge is registered to provide support and residential care for up to 17 people who may be living with dementia in one adapted building. At the time of the inspection 16 people were receiving care and support at the home.

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

Medicines were not always stored securely. Care documentation required improvement, and audits and checks had not identified the concerns we found on inspection. People were cared for in a clean and homely environment by staff who knew people’s needs and wishes.

People told us they felt safe, and they were supported by staff who helped them quickly if they needed this. Checks were completed to help ensure prospective staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people and staff had completed training to support their skills and knowledge. Staffing was arranged so people could be supported when they needed or requested support. Risk assessments relating to care were carried out to help minimise the risk of avoidable harm and staff knew the help and support people needed.

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.

People were consulted and asked their views on the service provided. People told us they were happy at the home and were confident any comments they made would be listened to. Staff told us they felt supported by the manager and senior management team and they were able to approach them if they needed support and guidance.

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

Rating at the last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 02 October 2021) and there was a breach of regulation. 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 the provider remained in breach of regulations. The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last 2 consecutive inspections.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the safe management of medicines, cleanliness, and culture. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review 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. The overall rating for the service remains requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

The provider responded swiftly to our concerns and took action to improve the service. This has minimised associated risks.

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

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to the safe management of medicines, care documentation and good governance.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Carlin Lodge is a residential home providing personal care to 14 people aged 65 and over who may be living with dementia at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 15 people in one adapted building.

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

People could not be assured all required recruitment checks were carried out before staff worked at Carlin Lodge. People told us they felt safe and they were supported by staff who helped them quickly if they needed this. Checks were completed to help ensure prospective staff were suitable to work with people who may be vulnerable. Risk assessments were carried out to help minimise the risk of avoidable harm and staff knew the help and support people needed. Medicines were managed safely. We have made a recommendation regarding best practice of medicines.

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.

People were cared for in a safe, clean and homely environment by staff who were caring, competent and knowledgeable about people’s needs. Staff told us training and supervision was arranged to ensure they had the skills to carry out their role. People told us they were happy at the home and they felt cared for. They explained the food was good, enjoyable activities were arranged, and they were supported to access medical advice if they needed this.

People were treated with dignity and respect and staff we spoke with us told us how they respected people and ensured their privacy and dignity was maintained. Care was person centred and met people's needs. People were cared for at the end of their life in line with their wishes.

Staff told us they felt supported by the registered manager and they were able to approach them if they needed support and guidance. People told us the registered manager was approachable and part of the team at the service.

People were consulted and asked their views on the service provided. Surveys had been completed by people who lived at the home. People told us they were happy at the home and were confident any comments or complaints they made would be listened to. Audits and checks were completed and actioned to drive improvement.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 02/05/2019 and this is the first inspection of all key questions. We carried out a focused inspection of the service on the 22/02/2021 to look at the key questions safe and well-led. We did not provide an overall rating for the service.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about recruitment and good governance. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. The inspection was also prompted in part by notification of a specific incident. This incident is subject to a criminal investigation. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident.

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.

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

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.

We have identified a breach in relation to recruitment checks not being consistently followed at the service. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Carlin Lodge is registered to provide care for up to 15 older people or people living with dementia. It is a detached home close to Queens promenade in North Shore Blackpool. Bedrooms are situated on all floors and are all en-suite. There are also separate assisted bathing facilities. There is a choice of communal lounges and seating areas. There is a small garden seating area at the front of the home. At the time of our inspection 13 people lived at Carlin Lodge.

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

There had been recent concerns in relation to people with who had high care needs receiving the support they needed, staffing and management. The home had been without a manager for several weeks and we were told care for people with higher care needs had not been good enough during this time. A new manager had been employed and in the short time they had been there had made improvements to care and staffing. The new manager was developing management systems, monitoring care practice so people were cared for safely, and supporting staff. We received positive feedback from people supported and staff about the manager and the changes they had made in the short time they had been managing Carlin Lodge.

Although there had been concerns about care, people who were less dependent on staff told us they were satisfied with the care they had received. They said they were able to be as independent as possible and felt safe and supported by the staff team. Where people were unable to talk with us, we observed care, which had improved and staff interactions which were frequent and caring. Staff were able to tell us about how to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Staff assessed and helped people manage avoidable risks. Staff supported people with their medicines according to national guidelines.

The home was clean and hygienic. This reduced the risk of infection outbreaks. The infection prevention and control policy was up to date. We saw and people told us staff followed infection control guidance and encouraged people to do the same. The building was maintained, and equipment serviced as required.

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

This service was registered with us 02/05/2019 and has not yet received a comprehensive inspection.

Why we inspected

We received concerns from health and social care professionals regarding care, record keeping, staffing and management of the home. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. The issues raised had been improved upon when we inspected.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. The service has not yet been given an 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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Carlin Lodge is a Care Home registered to provide care for up to 15 older people or people living with dementia. It is a detached home close to Queens promenade in North Shore Blackpool. Bedrooms are situated on all floors and are all ensuite. There are also separate assisted bathing facilities. There is a choice of communal lounges and seating areas. There is a small garden seating area at the front of the home. At the time of our inspection 11 people lived at Carlin Lodge.

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

People told us they felt they were cared for safely by the staff team. Staff demonstrated a good understanding about how to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. People were able to be as safe and as independent as possible because staff assessed risks and helped them manage avoidable risks. Staff supported people with their medicines according to national guidelines. Staff recruitment procedures were robust and there were enough staff to care for people safely.

The building was maintained and equipment serviced as required. The home was clean and hygienic so the risk of infection outbreaks were reduced and managed. The infection prevention and control policy was up to date. Staff almost always followed this, if not, the registered manager took prompt action to keep people safe.

We received positive feedback from people supported, relatives and staff about the leadership and management of Carlin Lodge. They told us they felt involved in the way the home was run. The registered manager and senior management team monitored the service to check on the quality and to make sure staff were providing good care. They understood and acted on legal obligations, including conditions of CQC registration and those of other organisations. They worked in partnership with other services and organisations to keep people safe and improve their well-being.

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

This service was registered with us 02/05/2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned focussed inspection in line with our inspection programme. We have made changes to the way we work due to Covid-19. This is to avoid putting pressure on services that are caring for people. During this inspection we looked at two key areas, safe and well-led. We do not look at all the five key questions during a focussed inspection. Therefore, the service was not given an 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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.