Primrose Lodge Southbourne

Primrose Lodge is a residential care home providing personal care to up to maximum of 30 people. The service provides support to older people. At the time of our inspection there were 28 people using the service.

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

People told us they felt safe and had confidence in the staff team. Staff had undertaken safeguarding training and understood their role in recognising and reporting concerns of abuse or poor practice. Staff knew people well and were clear about the actions needed to keep people safe and minimise their risk of any avoidable harm. Staffing levels met people’s needs and staff were responsive and flexible in covering absence or a change in a person’s care needs. Recruitment processes were robust, ensuring staff were suitable to work with older people. Medicines were managed safely by trained staff. Infection and prevention control measures were robust and in line with best practice guidance.

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.

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 30 August 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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 remained good.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Primrose 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.

Primrose Lodge Southbourne is registered to accommodate up to 27 people. At the time of our inspection there were 22 older people were living in the home in one adapted building in a residential area of Bournemouth.

At our last inspection we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

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At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People were supported by staff who understood the risks they faced and the support they needed to reduce these risks. Staff understood how to identify and report abuse. Staff also supported people to take their medicines as prescribed. We identified that staff did not know the risks associated with some medicines. This was addressed immediately by senior staff.

People all liked the food and there were systems in place to ensure they ate and drank safely.

People were supported by caring staff who had the skills and knowledge they needed. Staff knew people well and were able to describe the care and support they needed. This ensured people were supported to live their life the way they chose. People had access to a range of activities, both within the home and the local community, that they enjoyed.

Communication needs were considered and staff supported people to understand the choices available to them. This meant people were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The systems in place around recording decision making within the framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were not robust. This was addressed during our inspection and we have made a recommendation about this. Where people needed to be deprived of their liberty to receive care this had been identified and responded to appropriately.

People and relatives told us they could raise any concerns and these were addressed quickly. They told us that the manager, provider and the whole staff team were kind and approachable.

Quality assurance systems reflected the needs of the service and involved people. These systems had been effective in the provision of a safe and good quality service.

Primrose Lodge is a care home service without nursing and is registered to accommodate up to 27 people.

There was a registered manager in place. 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 the last inspection on 14 January 2014 the service was meeting the requirements of the regulations that were inspected at that time.

There were 22 people living at Primrose Lodge at the time of our inspection. People who lived at the home, relatives and friends told us people felt safe and secure with staff to support them. We found people’s care and support needs had been assessed before they moved into the home. Care records we looked at contained details of people’s preferences, interests, likes and dislikes.

We observed staff interaction with people during our inspection visit, spoke with staff, people who lived at the home and relatives. We found staffing levels and the skills mix of staff were sufficient to meet the needs of people and keep them safe. The recruitment of staff had been undertaken through a thorough process. We found all pre-employment checks that were required had been completed prior to staff commencing work. This was confirmed by talking with staff members.

We observed medicines were being dispensed and administered in a safe manner. The person responsible for administering medicines dealt with one person at a time to minimise risks associated with this process. We discussed training and found any person responsible for administering medicines had received formal medicine training to ensure they were confident and competent to give medicines to people.

People were asked for their consent before care was provided. Staff were aware of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had the knowledge, skills and experience to carry out their role. People told us that there were always staff available to help them when needed. Relatives of people who used the service told us that they visited the home at different times and on different days, and the staff always made them feel welcome. They said that staff were caring and treated people with respect, and that their relative was always comfortable and looked well cared for.

Staff were provided with relevant induction and training to make sure they had the right skills and knowledge for their role. Staff understood their role and what was expected of them. They were happy in their work, motivated and had confidence in the way the service was managed.

People had access to a range of health care professionals to help maintain their health. A varied and nutritious diet was provided to people. This took into account their dietary needs and preferences so that their health was promoted and choices respected.

People told us they could speak with staff if they had any worries or concerns and felt confident they would be listened to.

We saw people participated in a range of daily activities both in and outside of the home which were meaningful and promoted their independence.

There were effective systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. Regular checks and audits were undertaken to make sure full and safe procedures were adhered to.

People using the service and their relatives had been asked their opinion via surveys, the results of these had been audited to identify any areas for improvement.

We spoke with three members of staff and three people who lived at the home. We looked at three people's care planning records and other documents relating to people's care.

At this inspection we found that people's care needs were being met.

People's dignity and privacy was respected. Staff focused on individuals when they were supporting them. Mealtimes were sociable occasions and people could choose where they ate. There was a choice of food available and people were able to have an alternative if they wanted.

People living at Primrose Lodge were very positive about their experience of living at the home. No one had any complaints or concerns about how the home was run and managed. People's care plans were clearly set out and their needs were met. One person told us that the staff were 'very nice'.

People were protected against the risks associated with medicines because the provider had appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines.

People were cared for by staff who were supported to deliver care and treatment safely and to an appropriate standard.

The provider had suitable quality assurance procedures in place to manage the health and welfare of people living in the home. People were able to comment on the service provided.