Pinewood Lodge

Pinewood Lodge is a residential care home that was providing accommodation and personal care to 54 older people at the time of this inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were happy with how care was provided and felt safe living in the home. One person said, “I do feel safe because carers are around. There is always somebody I can ask for help. I am happy I moved here.” Staff were aware of how to keep people safe and when to report any concerns they may have had.

Risks to people’s wellbeing were assessed and actions taken to reduce these. People were supported by enough staff and recruitment checks were carried out before new staff started work.

People`s medicines were safely managed and administered as the prescriber intended. People lived in a clean environment and staff used appropriate protective equipment, such as gloves and aprons to prevent the spread of infections.

Staff felt supported by the management team and were well trained. People felt staff were competent and experienced.

Staff followed advice from health care professionals and made sure they asked people’s consent before caring for them.

People received care and support in a manner that met their preferences. Complaints were dealt with and resolved quickly.

People liked the staff who cared for them. Staff were kind and caring, they involved people in their care and made sure people’s privacy was respected. Staff worked well together, they understood the registered managers approach to deliver high quality care, which helped people to continue to live as independently as possible.

People, staff and professionals told us the home was well managed. Systems to monitor how well the home was running were carried out regularly. Where concerns were identified, the registered manager followed this up to make sure action was taken to rectify the issues. People were asked for their view of the home and action was taken to change any areas they were not happy with.

Rating at last inspection: Good (last report published 10 September 2016)

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up:

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

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

At this inspection was saw evidence that the newly appointed manager had recently submitted an application to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as the registered manager. The registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us that staff helped them stay safe at Pinewood Lodge. Staff received training on how to safeguard people from abuse and were knowledgeable about the potential risks and how to report concerns. Robust recruitment practices were followed and there were sufficient numbers of suitable staff available at all times to meet people’s needs. People were supported to take their medicines safely and at the right time by trained staff where necessary and appropriate. Potential risks to people’s health and well-being were identified, reviewed and managed effectively.

People who received support, relatives and health care professionals were positive about the skills, experience and abilities of staff who received training and refresher updates relevant to their roles. Staff supported people to maintain good health and access health and social care services when necessary.

Staff obtained people’s agreement to the support provided and always obtained their consent before helping them with personal care. People told us that staff supported them in a kind and caring way that promoted their dignity. We found that staff had developed positive relationships with the people they supported and were clearly very knowledgeable about their needs and personal circumstances.

People who received support were involved in the planning and regular reviews of the care provided and this was accurately reflected in their individual plans of care. The confidentiality of information held about people’s medical and personal histories was securely maintained.

People received personalised care and support that met their needs and took account of their preferences. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s background histories, preferences and routines. People were supported to pursue social interests relevant to their needs. They told us that the manager and staff listened to them and responded positively to any concerns they had. People were encouraged to raise any concerns they had and knew how to make a complaint if the need arose.

People, their relatives, staff and professional stakeholders were all complimentary about the management team and care staff and how the service operated. The management team monitored the quality of services and potential risks in order to drive continuous improvement.

We found that the provider was meeting most of the standards we had inspected, except for one. There was not a system in place to assess the risk of and to prevent and control the spread of infection. However, there was a system for the management and safe administration of medicines. Peoples' care needs were assessed and met appropriately. There was a system for assessing and monitoring of the quality of service and we noted that confidential records had been kept safely and securely.

People told us that they felt very involved in their care and their opinions were taken into account. The care plans and the risk assessments had been reviewed regularly and kept up to date.

We spoke with a relative who was visiting the home on the day of our inspection; they told us that they were extremely happy with the care their relative had received.

The home had systems in place to protect people from abuse and staff were knowledgeable as to what actions should be taken if they had concerns.

Staff had received the training to support them in their work. The home had a complaints policy and procedure in place, however, complaints had not always been recorded appropriately.