Archived: Northcourt Lodge Nursing Home

Updated 3 October 2017

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.

This inspection was unannounced and took place on 6 September 2017. It was completed by one inspector.

Before the inspection the provider sent us their provider information return. 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. We looked at all the information we have collected about the service. This included notifications the registered manager had sent us and the previous inspection report completed in July 2015. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law.

We looked at five care plans, daily notes and other documentation, such as medication records, relating to people who use the service. In addition we looked at some records related to the running of the service. These included a sample of health and safety, quality assurance, staff and training records.

We spoke with nine of the 20 people who live in the home. We observed how staff provided care throughout the inspection visit. We spoke with five staff members, the registered manager, and four relatives of people who live in the home. Additionally the operations director and provider were available to speak with for part of the day. We received written comments from some families and four professionals after the inspection visit.

Updated 3 October 2017

This was an unannounced inspection which took place on 6 September 2017.

Northcourt Lodge Nursing Home is registered to provide a service for up to 22 older people. Some people are living with conditions associated with growing older such as various types and degrees of dementia and physical difficulties. There were 20 people living in the home on the day of the visit, one person was in hospital. The service offered ground and first floor accommodation in individual bedrooms. The first floor accommodation was accessed via a lift. The service has limited space to provide shared areas for people to socialise and interact with each other. However, the shared accommodation currently meets people’s needs and choices. The gardens are spacious, well-kept and enjoyed by people.

At the last inspection, on 14 July 2015, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good:

There is a registered manager running the service. 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.

Staff continued to ensure they kept people and themselves as safe as possible. The staff team remained aware of how to provide a safe and secure environment because their knowledge and training was regularly up-dated. People were protected from any form of abuse or poor practice and any risks were identified and managed to keep people as safe as possible. Staffing ratios continued to meet people’s needs safely. Recruitment procedures were followed to ensure appointees were suitable and safe to work with people. People’s medicines continued to be administered safely.

The staff team continued to respond very effectively to people’s current and changing needs. The staff team knew people and their needs very well and responded quickly to any changes or issues. People’s health and well-being needs were met in a timely way and the advice and assistance of outside professionals was sought and followed, as necessary.

People continued to be supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff offered them care in the least restrictive way possible, the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The staff team remained kind, caring and committed to caring for people. They remained knowledgeable about people’s individual needs and respected people’s equality and diversity needs.

People continued to receive very good care from a well led and organised service. The registered manager was experienced and qualified and listened and responded to people, staff and others. The registered manager and the senior staff team were described as open, approachable and supportive.

The service kept good quality and well organised records and ensured they reviewed the quality of the service. They made changes, if necessary, to improve the quality of care they offered and people’s individual quality of life, if possible.