Updated 6 August 2021
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by three inspectors and a professional advisor who was a nurse. The inspection was also supported by 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. The Expert by Experience contacted people’s relatives by telephone to request their feedback.
Service and service type
Elizabeth Lodge is a ‘care home.’ People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed notifications of accidents and incidents, safeguarding alerts and feedback from relatives and professionals received since the last inspection. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
We contacted relatives and friends of twenty-two people living in the home by telephone to ask their views on the quality of care provided. We received feedback from three professionals who had regular contact with the home.
During the inspection
We spoke with thirteen staff including the registered manager, the deputy manager, the clinical lead nurse, unit team leaders, nurses and care assistants. We spoke with twenty-one people living at Elizabeth Lodge and one visitor. We carried out observations of staff interacting with people in all four occupied units. We also observed a mealtime in three of the four units. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.
We looked around all four occupied units and checked a sample of equipment.
We reviewed a range of records. This included medicines records in two of the four units and medicines management in general. We looked at the care records for nine people in detail. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance audits, infection prevention and control, training records and health and safety were also reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with a further four staff on the telephone.