Steven Lodge

Updated 7 August 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This was a comprehensive inspection, which took place on 25 June 2018 and was unannounced.

The inspection was carried out by one inspectors and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using similar services.

Due to technical problems, we did not ask the provider to complete a Provider Information Return. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. A Provider Information Return is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information we held about the service. We looked at previous inspection reports and notifications about important events that had taken place in the service, which the provider is required to tell us by law. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

We observed staff interactions with people and observed care and support in communal areas. We spoke with two people who used the service. We spoke with two support workers and the registered manager.

We looked at the provider’s records. These comprised two people’s care records, which included care plans, health records, risk assessments and daily care records. We looked at two staff files, a sample of audits and satisfaction surveys, and policies and procedures.

We asked the registered manager to send additional information after the inspection visit, including employee revised employment application form, legionella policy and staff training plan.

The information we requested was sent to us in a timely manner.

Updated 7 August 2018

The inspection was carried out on 25 June 2018, and was an unannounced.

Steven Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

Steven Lodge is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for three people who need 24 hour care who prefer to live in a small home. The people who use the service needed support to undertake life skills and be safe in the community. At the time of our inspection, the people who lived in the home were able to do somethings on their own and required support from staff to do other things.

At the last Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection on 15 December 2015, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The service did not have effective systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the services provided at the time we inspected. However, a new quality audit document was being implemented which mirrored CQC key lines of enquiries. This would ensure robust monitoring of the service by the registered manager.

The registered manager had not kept their policies up to date with new developments in social care. We have made a recommendation about this.

People continued to be safe at Steven Lodge. Staff knew what their responsibilities were in relation to keeping people safe from the risk of abuse. The provider continued to follow safe recruitment practice. They had introduced new application form to rectify gaps. Medicines were managed safely and people received them as prescribed.

Staff encouraged people to actively participate in activities, pursue their interests and to maintain relationships with people that mattered to them.

People received the support they needed to stay healthy and to access healthcare services.

People and staff were encouraged to provide feedback about how the service could be improved. This was used to make changes and improvements that people wanted.

There were enough staff to keep people safe.

Each person had an up to date support plan, which set out how their care and support needs should be met by staff. These were reviewed regularly.

Staff received regular training and supervision to help them to meet people's needs effectively.

People continued to receive support to eat and drink enough to meet their needs.

People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

Staff showed they were caring and they treated people with dignity and respect and ensured people's privacy was maintained.

People said that they could contact the registered manager and staff at any time, and they felt confident about raising any concerns if they wish to. The registered manager ensured the complaints procedure was made available if people wished to make a complaint.

You can see what action we told the registered provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.