Archived: Sydervelt Lodge

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good and was meeting the fundamental standards.

At the time of this inspection a registered manager was not in post. The registered manager had recently left the service. The current manager had recently been appointed and confirmed they would be making an application for registration with the commission as required. 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 service was safe. People were protected from the possible risk of harm or abuse by staff who were knowledgeable about identifying abuse and how to report it to safeguard people. Recruitment procedures were satisfactory. Risks to people had been assessed and managed appropriately to support their safety. There were also processes in place to manage any risks in relation to the running of the service. Staff deployment was suitable for people’s needs and people’s medicines were safely managed.

The service was effective. People were supported by skilled staff who worked as a team and supported people to exercise choice where possible in their daily lives. People’s nutritional and health care needs were met. People’s health care needs were assessed, reviewed and delivered in a way that promoted their wellbeing and improved their quality of life.

The service was caring. Observations and information provided by relatives confirmed that people were supported by kind and compassionate staff. Staff knew the needs and preferences of the people using the service. People’s dignity and privacy was promoted. Relationships were supported and relatives felt welcomed.

The service was responsive. People’s care needs had been assessed with them and their relatives. Care plans were person centred and reflected what was important to the person. People received care and support which was personalised and took account of their likes and dislikes. The service had a complaints policy in place and people felt able to complain if they needed to.

The service was well-led. A recently appointed manager was in post who was being supported in their role. The service had a positive and supportive culture. The provider had established systems in place to check on the quality and safety of the service and to put action plans in place where needed for the new manager to complete.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

People were made aware of the complaints system and the provider took account of complaints and comments to improve the service. People who used the service were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening. When we inspected the service we found people were protected from unsafe or unsuitable equipment.

People spoken with said they were happy and well cared for, with one person commenting, "I like it, food is nice, I go out a lot, I like helping out getting dinner ready'they are kind to me.' One relative wrote, 'It is wonderfully reassuring to see how happy and content my relative is here. As a family we are always made welcome and anything we need to know is readily explained.'

We looked at a sample of care and support files and found them to be detailed and informative. They had been regularly reviewed and updated to reflect any changes. People indicated that their care and support plans met their needs. We found that staff had been trained and had received regular updates in their training. Staff told us that they felt well supported to do their work.

The provider had good record management policies. Records were stored appropriately and quickly located when needed. Staff had been trained in confidentiality and had a good knowledge of the Data Protection Act 1998.