Amber Lodge Nursing Home

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

This is the first assessment of this location under a new provider. This key question has been rated good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider did work in partnership with people however, not everyone felt they were at the centre of their care and treatment choices. Not everyone experienced person-centred care at all times. One person told us, “I can go to bed and get up when I want but it does depend on if there are enough staff.”

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity. One person told us, “I have physiotherapy regularly. I had it this morning and she’s getting me walking again.”

The provider supplied appropriate information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. Care plans detailed preferred communication methods. Staff told us they had experience of using a variety of communication methods to ensure people understood their care needs. For example, through facial expressions, body language and communication cards. We observed staff tried different communication methods with people during our inspection day.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. Staff involved people in decisions about their care and told them what had changed as a result. People, relatives and staff had been asked for their views on various aspects of the service to help the provider understand their experience of care. Regular audits checked with people for their feedback and a meeting for relatives had been recently arranged. Relatives told us they received feedback from complaints. One relative said, “I have made complaints about care in the past and they are generally resolved.”

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. One person told us, “I see the GP now and again and I’ve also had the podiatrist recently.” The building had features that made it accessible. For example, it had a passenger lift, and corridors were wide enough to accommodate people using wheelchairs or tilt in space chairs. Records showed people were supported to access the care, support and treatment they needed.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this. Staff had completed training in equality, diversity and inclusion. This helped staff to understand how inequalities could affect people and helped to prevent discrimination.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life. No-one was receiving any end-of-life care at the time of our inspection however, care plans showed where people had been able to discuss any advance decisions about their care and choices. One relative told us they had appreciated being involved in these discussions.