17 October 2017
During a routine inspection
Approach Lodge provides residential care and support for up to seven adults with mental health needs and/or with a learning disability. At the time of our inspection seven people were living in the service who all had mental health needs.
There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People and their relatives told us they felt safe using the service. Staff had a good understanding of how to protect people from abuse and were confident any concerns raised would be acted upon immediately.
People’s risks were managed safely and care plans contained appropriate and detailed risk management plans. The provider worked closely with health and social care professionals and ensured people had a review if their needs changed.
People who required support with their medicines received them safely from staff who had completed training in the safe handling and administration of medicines. Staff completed the appropriate records and these were checked and audited regularly to minimise medicines errors.
Staff received the training and supervision they needed to meet people’s needs and were knowledgeable about their jobs. They were also encouraged and supported to sign up for vocational qualifications in health and social care to aid their learning.
People had regular access to healthcare services and staff were aware when people’s health and medical appointments were due. Staff worked closely with other health and social care professionals, such as the community mental health team and we saw evidence that recommendations had been followed in communication records and people’s care plans.
People were supported to have a healthy and balanced diet, which took into account their preferences as well as their cultural, medical and nutritional needs.
We observed positive interactions between people and staff throughout the inspection. We saw that staff treated people with respect and kindness, respected their privacy and promoted their dignity and independence.
People were involved in planning how they were cared for and supported. Care records were person centred and developed to meet people’s individual needs. There was evidence that language and cultural requirements were considered when carrying out the assessments and staff were able to communicate with people in their own language.
There was an accessible complaints procedure in place and people and their relatives knew how to make a complaint and felt comfortable raising issues with management. There was a daily meeting and an easy read survey in place to allow people the opportunity to feedback about the care and support they received.
There were effective quality assurance systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided and understand the experiences of people who used the service. The provider followed a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual cycle of quality assurance activities and learning took place from the result of the audits.
People and their relatives felt comfortable approaching the management team, who had a visible presence throughout the service. Staff spoke positively of the working environment and the support they received from management.