Liberty Lodge

Updated 26 August 2026

About the service

Liberty Lodge is a 5 bedded care home without nursing. At the time of our assessment 5 people were using the service.

Who the service is for

Liberty Lodge supports women with mental health needs.

Key findings

We carried out this assessment between 16 and 22 September 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.

Systems were in place to keep people safe. Staff had received training on safeguarding adults and were aware of the required reporting processes should they suspect someone to be at risk of harm. Staff assessed risks to people’s safety and plans were in place to instruct staff about how to support people to manage and mitigate those risks. One person’s mobility had changed since a prolonged period in hospital. Staff were able to tell us how they supported the person, including closer observation when using stairs, to mitigate any risks. However, we noted this change in the person’s support needs had not been updated in their care records. The registered manager assured us this would be reviewed and their records updated. Systems were in place to record and report any incidents or accidents that occurred, and we saw these were reviewed and action taken to minimise the risk of recurrence.

There were no undue restrictions to people’s liberty. People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. In care homes, this can be done through a procedure called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the MCA and how they managed DoLS within the service. We found that staff and management worked within the MCA. DoLS authorisations were appropriately applied for and overseen. People were not subject to unlawful or excessive restrictions they had choice, control and freedom over their lives.

There were enough staff to keep people safe. There was some apprehension in the staff team about lone working arrangements at night and on weekends. However, a lone working policy was available, and an on-call system was in place should staff require additional support. The registered manager informed us they would further discuss staff’s apprehension about staffing levels during team meetings and individual supervision sessions. Staff completed the provider’s mandatory training and staff confirmed they were supported to complete additional training should they wish to. Staff received regular supervision and annual appraisals.

Staff worked with other healthcare professionals to provide continuity of care. This included working with hospital staff when assessing people’s needs and supporting their transition to the home. Staff worked with people’s care coordinators from the community mental health team and supported people to attend medical appointments. The registered manager told us they had also been successful in supporting people, when ready, to move to more independent living settings.

There were systems in place to review the quality and safety of care delivery, including a programme of audits and regular manager’s meetings across the provider group. Where improvements were required, this had been identified and addressed.

Updated 26 August 2026

Personalised care plans were in place, and staff were able to describe people’s history, their support needs and people’s preferences. People were involved in developing their care plans. Each person had an allocated key worker who spent time with them discussing how they would like to be supported and what goals they would like to achieve during their time at Liberty Lodge. A relative told us their family member had made “really good progress” since living at Liberty Lodge.

People were encouraged to develop their independence skills. We observed people treating the service as their own home. Many of the people living at the service had been assessed as safe to use the kitchen independently and we saw people preparing their own lunchtime meals.

Those that were not subject to deprivation of liberty safeguards were seen freely coming and going from the service. People regularly accessed the local community. On the day of our assessment there were not many activities being delivered at the service, but this was the choice of the people living there and we observed staff offering support to people to facilitate games and activities. One person we spoke with told us they were happy they were able to access the local market on their own. They also confirmed that staff were available to play games with them if they wished to. Staff respected people’s decisions and choices.

Staff were respectful of people’s privacy and were observed knocking on people’s bedroom doors and obtaining people’s consent before entering. Staff also discreetly supported people to maintain their dignity when accessing communal areas of the building.

Staff supported people to maintain relationships with those that were important to them. We heard about the support provided to one person which enabled them to independently travel to their family home to spend time with their relatives.