Chater Lodge

Updated 24 January 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 was planned to check 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.

The inspection was a comprehensive inspection, which took place on 19 December 2017 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert-by-Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. The provider returned the PIR and we took this into account when we made our judgements in this report. We reviewed other information we held about the service such as notifications, which are events which had happened in the service that the provider is required to tell us about, and information that had been sent to us by other agencies. This included the local authority who commissioned services from the provider.

We observed care and support being provided in the communal areas of the service.

During our visit we spoke with eight people who used the service, one friend of a person and three relatives. We spoke with one senior carer, two care assistants, one laundry person, the maintenance person and one cook. The deputy manager, registered manager and the provider’s representative also spoke with us.

We looked at all or parts of the care records for six people, the training and induction records for five staff and four people’s medicine records along with other records relevant to the running of the service. This included policies and procedures, records of staff training and records of associated quality assurance processes.

We also consulted other professionals and commissioners of the service who shared with us their views about the care provided.

Updated 24 January 2018

We carried out an unannounced inspection of the service on 19 December 2017.

Chater 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 home can accommodate 45 people in one adapted building. There were 39 people receiving care and support at the home at the time of our visit.

The service was last inspected 10 November 2016 and the rating for that inspection was Good. Since the last inspection there has been a new registered manager recruited.

There was a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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 continued to receive safe care. Staff were aware of their responsibility to keep people safe. Risks were assessed and managed to reflect people’s current needs. Staffing levels were adequate. Safe recruitment was followed to ensure suitable staff were employed.

Medicines were managed and stored safely. Arrangements were in place to make sure the premises were clean. Staff had completed relevant hygiene training. Incidents and accidents were reported and managed.

People continued to have their needs assessed. Staff received training to ensure they had appropriate skills to carry out their roles. People were supported to have sufficient amounts to eat and drink. People were supported to receive care across different services. People were involved in regular monitoring of their health and wellbeing. People were consulted about decisions about their environment. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

People were supported by staff who were kind and compassionate. People were treated with respect and dignity at all times. They had a good relationship with the staff, who had a strong emphasis on supporting people’s diverse needs. People experienced positive compassionate care to ensure people felt at home. Relatives were positive about the care people received.

People received personalised care that met their needs. Concerns and complaints were dealt with and responded to. People were encouraged to share their views about the home, but they were not always informed of any actions taken if they had identified concerns. We made a recommendation to the provider about the management of feedback from surveys. Discussions took place to support people at their end of life.

Systems and procedures were in place to monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided. There was a registered manager in post. Staff were supported to raise concerns and use the whistleblowing policy. Information systems were used effectively to monitor the quality of care.

The service worked in partnership with other organisations including the local authority, safeguarding and CQC.