Devonshire House and Lodge

Updated 6 July 2021

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

We received information of concern about infection control and prevention measures at this service. These concerns related to the visiting arrangements in the service. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place, with particular attention to the arrangements in place for people to maintain contact with their loved ones.

This inspection took place on 12 May 2021 and was announced.

Updated 6 July 2021

About the service: Devonshire House and Lodge is a residential care home that was providing personal and nursing care to 71 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. A service is mainly provided to older people who may be living with dementia and /or have a physical or sensory impairment.

People’s experience of using this service:

• People were valued as individuals and treated with care and compassion. Staff emphasised how important it was to know each person well in order to provide person centred care. This deep knowledge of people also helped staff understand when people needed reassurance and how best to provide it. People, family members and professionals gave consistently positive feedback about the caring culture of the home. Comments included, “I am so blown away by the staff” and “The staff are more like friends and family.”

• Staff engaged positively with people throughout the day. This helped build strong bonds that increased people’s confidence in sharing their views about their care and the service. Staff knew how to communicate with people so people understood the options available to them. Staff were skilled in understanding people’s responses.

• The registered manager and staff extended their care and compassion to people’s family members and saw them as part of the home’s community. Comments included, “[…] is getting the most gentle, loving care and so are we!”

• People, relatives, staff and professionals gave exceptional feedback about the impact the registered manager had had on the home and on the lives of the people living in it. Staff told us they saw the registered manager as a role model. It was clear staff had adopted the registered manager’s approach to the care of the people living in the service. People were encouraged to share things staff had done that mattered to them and staff were rewarded for their contribution.

• The registered manager had a clear vision for the service and took regular action to help ensure this vision was realised. This included engaging the local community in the life of the home and supporting people to be a part of their local community. They told us, “This is a home and people in it should be a part of their community. It’s about people being included and valued.”

• People lived in a service that kept them safe. Staff had been recruited safely and had received training on how to recognise and report abuse. People were supported to take their medicines safely and to reduce any risks relating to their individual health and care needs.

• People’s care was provided in line with best practice. People were cared for by staff who received regular training that was tailored to meet the needs of the people living in the service.

• People’s needs and preferences regarding food and drink were known and respected. People told us they liked the food and staff gave examples of things they did to help ensure people got the food they liked, whilst maintain their health.

• People’s ideas and preferences were sought and listened to in relation to the internal and external environment. People were offered a variety of different ways to spend their time. Staff understood what people enjoyed doing and constantly worked to offer a variety of activities based on people’s preferred pastimes and hobbies.

• We have made a recommendation about the management of some medicines.

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

Rating at last inspection: Requires Improvement (report published 12 April 2018). We did not request an action plan as there were no regulatory breaches.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.