Valkyrie Lodge

Updated 17 October 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Valkyrie Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Valkyrie Lodge is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced on the first day of inspection and announced on the second day.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used information gathered as part of a monitoring activity that took place on 21 August 2023 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 5 people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 3 members of staff including the registered manager.

We viewed a range of records. This included 3 people's care records and multiple medication records. We reviewed 2 staff files in relation to recruitment, and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 17 October 2023

About the service

Valkyrie Lodge is a care home providing personal care to people who require support with their mental health. At the time of our inspection there were 5 people receiving care. The service is set in the community in an adapted building over 3 floors with a garden.

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

People we spoke with were happy living at the service and felt supported by staff.

We have made recommendation in relation to safeguarding, staff training and support and recruitment processes.

Care and treatment was not recorded in detail or in a person centred way to provide safe support to people. Care plans and risk assessments did not contain enough guidance to staff to mitigate risks to people. More robust recruitment practices needed to be implemented in line with the providers policies. Improvements were needed with medicine documentation and evidence if staff were competent to safely administer medicines.

Care documentation needed to be more person-centred and regularly updated to ensure people received the correct care and support. Staff required more frequent training to keep them up to date with best practice. Nutritional assessments should be in place to ensure people had the correct level of support with nutrition and hydration.

The registered manager needed to keep themselves and staff up to date with best practice guidance to ensure people living at the service were empowered and had positive outcomes. Better governance systems needed to be implemented to monitor and improve care delivery.

There were systems in place to minimise the risk of infection and to learn lessons from accidents and incidents.

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 supported to access healthcare from other professionals such as the GPs and mental health services.

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

Rating at the last inspection was good (published 30 January 2018). The rating at this inspection has changed to requires improvement.

Why we inspected

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

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance at this inspection.

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

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.