Courteney's Lodge

Updated 22 January 2020

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.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in a sheltered housing setting, so they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for sheltered housing; this inspection only looked at people’s personal care and support.

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. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the 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 looked at other information we held about the service from statutory notifications of events that the provider is required by law to submit to CQC and information from commissioners and the local safeguarding authority. We took this into account when we inspected the service and in making the judgements in this report.

During the inspection we spoke with six people using the service and two relatives. We spoke with three care staff, two healthcare students and the registered manager. We reviewed the care plans and other associated care records for four people using the service. We reviewed two staff recruitment files and staff training records. We also reviewed records in relation to the quality monitoring of the service, medicines, accident and incident reports, safeguarding and complaints records.

Updated 22 January 2020

About the service

Courteney's Lodge is a sheltered housing with care scheme for older people, and people living with dementia. The service is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide the regulated activity Personal Care. At the time of the inspection 34 people were receiving Personal Care at the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People continued to receive care from staff that were appropriately recruited. The staffing arrangements ensured there were enough staff to meet people's personal care needs. Systems were in place to manage people's medicines.

People continued to receive care from staff that were effectively trained and supported to develop their skills and knowledge. People were supported to maintain health and nutrition according to their assessed needs.

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 supported this practice.

The relationships between people using the service, relatives and staff were positive. People were treated with dignity and respect. Consistent care and support was provided for people in line with their assessed needs and personal preferences.

Information was made available for people and their representatives on how to raise concerns or make a complaint. The provider had systems in place to handle and record complaints.

The service had an open culture. Systems were in place to provide managerial oversight to continuously monitor the quality of the service. Accidents and incidents were responded to following the providers procedures and used as learning opportunities to reduce the risk of repeat incidents. The registered manager ensured all serious incidents were reported to the relevant authorities and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The rating from the previous CQC inspection was displayed as legally required within the service and on the provider website.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (report published 4 July 2017).

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.