Last updated 29 May 2019
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team: The inspection was conducted by two inspectors.

Service and service type: Epsom 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.

There was no registered manager in post. A manager had recently been appointed to the service and had begun the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection: The inspection took place on 11 April 2019 and was unannounced

What we did: Prior to this inspection we reviewed all the information we held about the service, including data about safeguarding and statutory notifications. Statutory notifications are information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We reviewed the action plans sent to us by the provider regarding the progress they had made. Feedback was also sought from professionals involved in the service.

As part of our inspection we spoke with three people who lived at the service and two relatives. We observed the care and support provided to people. We also spoke with the provider, manager and three staff members. In addition, we spoke with one healthcare professional who visited the service. We reviewed a range of documents about people's care and how the home was managed. We looked at five care plans, one staff file, medication administration records, risk assessments, complaints records, accidents and incidents, training records and internal audits that had been completed.

Following the inspection, the registered manager sent additional information requested on the day in relation to recruitment checks and provided regular updates on actions discussed.