Archived: Manor Lodge

People’s experience of using this service:

People were positive about their experience of living at the home. For example, a person said, “I can’t praise them enough. I haven’t found anywhere that can hold a candle to this one. It’s five star and I am lucky to be here.” A relative described their experience of researching care homes in the areas, ““We looked around about five homes in Exmouth. We felt this one has a nice feeling. The whole environment, and nice gardens.”

People were cared for by a registered manager and staff team that were committed, compassionate and knowledgeable. Staff actively encouraged people to express their views and be involved in changes to the service, such as alterations to the decor.

People received personalised care and support specific to their needs and preferences. Care staff conversations with people showed they knew people well and what topics would interest them.

People were encouraged to live a full and meaningful life. Engagement in activities and networks outside of the service was an important part of people's lives, including raising money for charity.

Staff provided emotional support to people, their families and friends. Staff took seriously their responsibility to make people feel safe and pain free at the end of their life. Staff spoke enthusiastically and passionately about how they provided people with high quality, person-centred care. They were skilled at recognising when people were feeling vulnerable, needed reassurance and empathy.

People's wishes, suggestions and concerns were listened to, respected, and acted on. People were supported by staff who respected their privacy and dignity. Their nutritional needs were met, and people praised the quality of the food.

Assessments identified when people could be at risk. They covered people's physical and mental health needs and the environment they lived in. People were protected from abuse because staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities. People were supported by staff who completed appropriate training and understood their needs.

Care staff were recruited to suit the caring values of the service and recognised the importance of team work to provide consistent and safe care. Staff spoke confidently about the care they delivered and affectionately about the people they supported. They understood how they contributed to both people’s physical health and mental wellbeing.

Referrals were made in a timely manner to health care services when people’s needs changed. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to appropriate services, which ensured they received on-going healthcare support. Medicine administration, recording and auditing was safe.

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 reflected this practice. Information was in place to ensure people’s legal rights were protected.

The management team, through regular reviews and observations of staff practice, showed a commitment for people to receive a good quality service. Feedback from people using the service and quality assurance records showed this had been achieved.

Rating at last inspection (and update):

The last rating for this service was Good (published 17 July 2017). At this inspection, the rating remained the same.

Why we inspected: This inspection was scheduled for follow up based on the last report rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the intelligence we receive about the service. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

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

We last inspected the service in February 2014 and found they were compliant with the regulations inspected.

The service had a registered manager. 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. The responsible person and the provider’s representative referred in the report as the owners were at

the service when we visited. The registered manager confirmed they were at the service most days and actively involved with the running of the service. Everyone was positive about the registered manager and owners and felt they were approachable and caring. The owners were very active at the service during our visit and were seen to be caring and supportive to staff.

People said staff treated them with dignity and respect at all times in a caring and compassionate way. Interactions between people and staff showed that staff were kind, friendly and caring towards people. Comments from people included, “They are all lovely” and “The care is absolutely excellent.”

People received their prescribed medicines on time and in a safe way. Where people were able to self-administer their own medicines systems were put into place to protect them.

There were sufficient and suitable staff to keep people safe and meet their needs. The staff undertook additional shifts when necessary to ensure staffing levels were maintained and there was flexibility. If additional staff were required due to staff shortages, agency staff were used from the provider’s local domiciliary service.

The registered manager had a clear understanding about their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. Where people lacked capacity, mental capacity assessments had been completed and best interest decisions made in line with the MCA. However these had not always been formally recorded. Staff had a clear understanding about maintaining people’s rights and about the MCA.

People were supported by staff who had the required recruitment checks in place. Staff had received a full induction and were knowledgeable about the signs of abuse and how to report concerns. Staff had received training and had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs.

The home was very clean and tidy throughout and had a pleasant welcoming homely atmosphere. People were supported to eat and drink enough and maintain a balanced diet. People and staff were positive about the food at the service. There was a high emphasis by the management team to ensure people had a positive dining experience at the home.

Activities formed an important part of people’s lives at the service. Staff treated people as individuals they took the time to ascertain their interests. Staff supported people to follow their interests and take part in social activities. Staff undertook activities at the home each day and external entertainers were arranged.

Risk assessments were undertaken for people to ensure their health needs were identified. Care plans reflected people’s needs and gave staff guidance about how to support them safely. They were personalised and people had been involved in their development. People were involved in making decisions and planning their own care on a day to day basis. They were referred promptly to health care services when required and received on-going healthcare support.

The provider had a quality monitoring system at the service. The provider actively sought the views of people, their relatives and staff. There was a complaints procedure in place. There had been no complaints in 2016.

The premises and equipment were managed to keep people safe.

We found care was planned and delivered in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare. When we asked people about their care, a typical reply was 'We're well looked after." They were protected against risks associated with medicines because there were appropriate arrangements for managing medicines. They were also protected from infection risks because appropriate guidance had been followed and the environment was clean.

There were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs. Everyone we spoke with was positive about the support staff provided, typically describing staff as 'very kind'. One person said 'They all do their jobs very well.'

Comments and complaints people made were responded to appropriately. One person said 'If there's something I don't like, I would complain to the staff'They take it the right way.' Most people told us that they had not had to make a complaint or that there were no issues, with one person adding 'They even pull the curtains at the right time!'

People we spoke with told us they were very happy living at Manor Lodge. One person said 'I was not sure about moving to a home. I must say in doing so I feel safer and more confident.' People told us they were happy with the level of care and support they received from the staff. People told us they were supported to access any healthcare they needed.

People told us they were able to make choices as part of their daily lives and staff respected their wishes. We found that people's privacy was protected.

We were told that food at the home was excellent and people were very satisfied with the environment in which they lived.

People told us that they felt safe and knew who to speak with if they had any concerns. Staff knew what to do if they suspected poor practice. One person said 'I can speak with anyone here, they are all wonderful.'

Staff said they felt well supported and had access to a wide variety of training. Staff were only recruited after robust pre employment checks had taken place.

The home was very well managed, records were well kept and there were systems in place to monitor the service provided and the safety of the home.