Eastern Lodge

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence.

This is the first assessment for this newly registered service. This key question has been rated Good.

This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider did not always make sure people’s care and treatment were effective because they did not always check and discuss people’s health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

People had care plans which included risk assessments and records of meetings with external health professionals. Care plans had been reviewed monthly, and people were involved in the reviews. People had capacity to understand why they needed to live in a care home and understood why they needed staff support. However, we found while care plans recorded people’s needs correctly, they did not always include information on people’s likes, dislikes and preferences.

Staff told us they were involved in regular discussions and reviews about people’s needs. One staff member said, “I read the care plans, I think they have enough information. They guide you to know how they are. You get a brief history of people and their past. I think they cover quite a lot.”

The provider planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.

The provider used recognised tools to assess and identify risks to providing people’s care and support. This included the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI). IDDSI is a standard for describing food textures and drink thicknesses for people with swallowing difficulties. Using the IDDSI, care plans clearly identified how some people needed their food prepared to reduce their risks of choking. Supplementary food charts and daily records completed by staff, accurately recorded people’s food intake. We observed food was prepared in line with their requirements including when they went out.

Staff told us they were informed about people’s nutritional needs and updated if those needs changed. This included in relation to any modified diets, allergies or weight loss.

The provider worked well across teams and services to support people. They made sure people only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when people moved between different services.

Staff described strong teamwork and mutual support across the service. They worked effectively with health and social care professionals. They discussed how the range of training provided assisted them to deliver good care and support.

Feedback from visiting professionals was positive regarding collaborative working. One external professional told us, “The communication is very good between us with the bookings, also I have noticed the phone is answered very quickly and the staff will alwayscommunicate very well with people.”

The provider supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. Staff supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

There was strong evidence of support around improving people’s independence and enabling them to maintain their skills. Staff showed us how they encouraged people, where able, to come into the kitchen and either observe meal preparation or supporting people to become involved to their preferred level.

Staff explored healthier food choices with people. People were involved in menu planning and were offered alternative options if they did not wish to have the meal provided on a particular day. People told us they had access to a variety of food.

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured outcomes were positive and consistent, and they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

People were consistently supported to set and achieve personalised outcomes. People shared examples of positive progress, including improvements in physical and mental health, as well as increased independence.

Progress towards achieving outcomes was recorded to enable effective monitoring, review, and ongoing support.

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

People told us their views were respected and they were involved in making decisions about their lives. One person told us, “We sat down and went through everything, and I agreed with the plan.”

Staff understood the importance of gaining consent before providing care. One staff member told us, “I knock on the door and ask for consent. We can’t force them.”

When a person questioned their care package, the manager worked with them to access independent advocacy services and their social worker to enable them to make a complaint about their placement.