Carmen Lodge

Carmen Lodge is a 'residential care home'. The service provides accommodation and support with personal care for up to 11 adults with mental health conditions. At the time of our inspection, 11 people were using the service.

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

People were protected from the risk of abuse and neglect. Risks to people's health and safety were assessed appropriately for people who used the service. The provider ensured that there were enough, appropriately trained and skilled staff to keep people safe.

The home had a good system in place for managing people’s medicines. The home was clean and tidy, and measures had been taken to reduce the risk of the spread of infections. The provider ensured that there were systems in place for learning from accidents and incidents to prevent recurrence.

People received care from staff in accordance with their needs assessments whilst protecting their rights and freedoms. Staff received training and were supervised appropriately. People received guidance and support to follow a balanced and healthy diet.

Staff supported people to receive external healthcare support when required. Staff followed advice and guidance from people’s health and social care professionals.

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. We saw that people’s care plans were person centred and audits were being completed by the service.

The registered manager was supported by a deputy manager as well as senior staff within the home to maintain safety and provide the right care and support for people within the home. The registered manager understood the regulatory requirements of their role.

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 inspection for this service was rated good (published 10 November 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Carmen Lodge on our website

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

The service provides accommodation and support with personal care for up to 11 adults with mental health conditions. At the time of our inspection 10 people were using the service.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 experiences of people who lived at the service were positive. People and their relatives told us they felt the service was safe, staff were kind and the care they received was good. Staff had a good understanding of their responsibility with regard to safeguarding adults.

Risk assessments were in place which provided guidance on how to support people safely. Medicines were managed in a safe manner. The service employed sufficient numbers of suitable staff to meet people’s needs. People’s finances were managed safely.

Staff undertook training and received regular supervision to help support them to provide effective care. Staff we spoke with had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). MCA and DoLS is legislation protecting people who are unable to make decisions for themselves or whom the state has decided need to be deprived of their liberty in their own best interests. We saw people were able to choose what they ate and drank.

Person centred support plans were in place and people and their relatives were involved in planning the care and support they received.

People’s cultural and religious needs were respected when planning and delivering care. Discussions with staff members showed that they respected people’s sexual orientation so that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people could feel accepted, safe and welcomed in the service.

People had access to a wide variety of activities within the community. The provider had a complaint procedure in place. People knew how to make a complaint.

The service used inclusive ways to enable people and staff be empowered and voice their opinions in all aspects of the service. Staff were motivated and felt supported by the registered manager. Health and social care professionals spoke enthusiastically about how the service was run. There was a strong emphasis on improvement, driven by the registered manager. Monitoring by the management team ensured that quality and safety issues were addressed quickly. People were asked to give their views and were involved in the recruitment process, they were listened to and their responses were addressed.