St Ives Lodge Residential Care Home

Updated 15 September 2026

St Ives Lodge Residential Care Home is a care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 36 people, including people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection, 35 people were living at the service. The home comprises three units. There were communal gardens around the building, which were accessible for people.

The service provides care and support to people with a range of needs, including dementia and other care and support needs.

We carried out this assessment on 4 and 11 August 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.

People told us they felt safe and well cared for. Relatives were positive about the care provided and described staff as caring and professional. During our assessment, we saw staff interacting positively with people and providing support in a calm and respectful manner.

The service had arrangements in place to identify and manage risks to people’s health and safety. Care plans and risk assessments were maintained electronically and reflected people’s individual needs. We reviewed arrangements for people at increased risk of falls and found measures such as increased observations, support with mobility, lowered beds and falls alarm mats. Falls were monitored and analysed, with actions identified following incidents.

Staffing arrangements were sufficient to meet people’s needs across the 3 units. Staff were deployed according to people’s dependency and support requirements. We observed staff providing assistance during meals, activities and throughout the day. Staff told us they felt there were enough staff to provide the care people required and that management were available to support them.

Staff had appropriate training and support for their roles. We reviewed staff records and found evidence of appropriate recruitment checks, induction, training, supervision and appraisal. Staff had completed training relevant to the people they supported, including safeguarding, medicines, moving and handling, dementia and infection prevention and control.

Medicines were generally managed safely. Medicines were stored securely and administration was recorded using the electronic medicines system. Controlled drugs were appropriately managed and stock balances were checked. We identified some gaps in the management of ‘when required’ (PRN) medicines, as PRN protocols were not consistently available to guide staff about when these medicines should be administered. We also identified that, for some people receiving medicines covertly, the required authorisation was not fully evidenced at the time of our assessment. The provider responded promptly to our findings, reviewing PRN arrangements and obtaining the outstanding authorisation. Evidence of the actions taken was subsequently provided to us.

The home was clean and well maintained. We observed communal areas and people’s bedrooms to be clean and tidy. Our walk-around did not identify obvious trip hazards. Measures were in place in bedrooms for people at increased risk of falls.

People were supported to take part in activities and spend time with others. We observed group activities where people engaged well, with staff encouraging participation and interaction. The service also provided opportunities for relatives to visit and participate in social activities.

People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment with appropriate legal authority. In care homes, this can be done through a procedure called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We checked whether the service was working within the principles of the MCA and how they managed DoLS within the service. We found that staff and management worked within the MCA. DoLS authorisations were appropriately applied for and overseen. People were not subject to unlawful or excessive restrictions they had choice, control and freedom over their lives.

Overall, we found the service continued to provide a good standard of care. People experienced care that was safe, caring and responsive to their individual needs. The registered manager and staff demonstrated a commitment to providing good quality care and responding to areas where improvements were identified.

Updated 15 September 2026

People told us they had a positive experience of living at St Ives Lodge and felt safe, comfortable and well cared for. During our assessment, the atmosphere across the home was generally calm and welcoming. People appeared settled in communal areas and staff were available to provide support when needed. People consistently described staff as kind, caring and respectful. One person told us, “I feel safe and happy here, I know everyone.” Another person told us staff “let me do what I wish.” People told us staff were patient, helped them when they needed support and did not rush them.

Relatives also spoke positively about the care provided. One relative told us their family member was “100% safe.” Another relative described the care as “excellent” and told us their family member was calmer, sleeping better and had gained weight since living at the home. Relatives told us staff were professional, caring and responsive to their family members’ needs. People told us staff responded when they needed help. One person said staff came when they called and that they felt supported when mobilising. We observed staff supporting people with mobility and transfers and providing assistance when people required it.

People were supported to maintain their independence and make choices about their daily lives. People told us they were able to choose what they wanted to do and where they spent their time. Staff supported people to remain involved in their care and respected their individual preferences. Mealtimes were observed to be calm and well managed. People were offered choices and staff were available to provide assistance where required. People were able to eat at their own pace. We observed staff checking people’s wellbeing and offering drinks throughout the day.

People told us they were happy with the food and the choices available. Staff supported people according to their individual needs, including people who required assistance with eating and drinking. Relatives told us their family members’ nutritional needs were well supported. People were supported to take part in activities that interested them. During our assessment, we observed group activities where people were engaged well. People participated in the activities and staff encouraged interaction and involvement. Relatives told us their family members enjoyed activities such as chair exercises and singalong sessions, which were also observed during the assessment.

The service also provided opportunities for people to maintain relationships with their families. Families visited regularly and took part in activities and events at the home. We observed opportunities for families to spend time with people during social activities, including group sessions such as quiz in the garden area. People and relatives told us staff respected their privacy and dignity. One relative told us staff listened to their family member and encouraged their independence. Another relative told us they could “speak to the manager anytime.” Relatives told us they were able to raise concerns with staff and management and felt their views were listened to.

Staff spoke positively about their relationships with people. One staff member told us, “I have a good relationship with the people that live here, I get along with everything.” Another staff member said, “I like working here, the staff, the management and the care that we provide we always try for high quality care. Everything is good here.” Staff told us they felt supported by the management team. One staff member told us, “I have no concerns, everything is going well.” Staff described the registered manager as supportive and said managers were available to provide advice and support when needed.

Staff told us they had the training required to support people safely. One staff member said, “I get all the training I need to do the job properly. I have been trained on medicines and safeguarding.” Staff were able to explain their responsibilities around safeguarding and how they would raise concerns. One staff member explained, “Safeguarding is if there is neglect or abuse of residents, we can whistle blow and share our concerns to the manager.” Staff demonstrated an understanding of their responsibility to report concerns and protect people from abuse and neglect.

Staff also spoke positively about the electronic care planning system. One staff member told us, “We recently changed to digital and it is very good, we are learning. It is not paper based and we save time and it is easy to audit. The care plans are helpful and accurate.” People’s safety was supported through effective falls prevention arrangements. We found people had individual falls risk assessments and care plans, with measures in place to reduce identified risks. We observed people being supported safely using appropriate equipment. Falls were monitored and analysed and actions were taken following incidents.

Throughout the assessment, we observed staff supporting people in a kind, respectful and person-centred way. People appeared comfortable in communal areas and staff responded to their individual needs.