Archived: Ernehale Lodge Care Home

Updated 20 October 2021

The inspection

This was a targeted inspection to check whether the provider had met the requirements of the Warning Notice in relation to Regulation 15 (Premises and Equipment) and Regulation 17 (Good Governance) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and a specialist advisor (nurse).

Service and service type

Ernehale 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 did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission, although they were in the process of registering. This means that the provider was currently solely legally responsible for how the service was run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We also contacted Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service and asked them about the quality of the care they received. We also spoke with three care staff, a nurse, the home manager and the nominated individual (NI). The NI is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included all or parts of records relating to the care of six people and records relating to the safety and management of the service.

Updated 20 October 2021

About the service

Ernehale Lodge Care Home is a residential home providing personal and nursing care to 13 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 40 people.

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

The provider was aware that improvements were still needed to the care planning and risk assessment process. They had an action plan in place to address this. Local authority commissioners commented on improvements at the home, although, they also required evidence of the capability of these improvements to be sustained.

The were some improved management and governance procedures in place. A new manager, with a history of improving struggling homes was now in place. They, along with the provider, had implemented new procedures to help continually act on concerns. This led to improved feedback from people and staff. Staff commented on the improvements the manager had made since she came to the home.

Improvements had been made to the premises and equipment used to provide people with the care and support they needed. The home was clean, tidy and obvious hazards to people’s safety had been removed. This included a safe, secure and tidy garden space for people and staff to use. Some improvements to the décor of the home had been made, although further improvements were still required. The immediate risk to people’s health and safety had been reduced.

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 requires improvement (published 7 July 2021)

At this inspection there was not enough evidence to show that the improvements had been made in all areas and the provider was still in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection unless all of a key question have been assessed.

Follow up

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.