Autumn Lodge

Autumn Lodge is a residential care home and was providing personal care and accommodation to 32 older people at the time of this inspection. The service can support up to 36 people. The home is comprised of three Victorian buildings converted into one home. Accommodation for people is over three floors. People have access to a lift, a garden with patio area and pond. There are various communal areas such as a conservatory, a lounge and dining room. The home specialises in providing care to people living with dementia

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

People we spoke to said they felt safe living at the home. One person said, “I feel absolutely safe here. The staff certainly make that happen.” People medicines were managed and administered safely. Infection control procedures had been updated in line with COVID-19 guidance to help protect people, visitors and staff from the risk of infection. There were enough staff to support people safely while staff had been recruited in line with the providers policy. Risks to people's health, safety and welfare were identified and supported. People’s needs had been assessed and updated when these changed.

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 registered manager encouraged feedback from people, staff and professionals involved in people’s care. Staff worked closely with health professionals and external agencies to promote good outcomes for people. People spoke positively about the openness, engagement and involvement of the registered manager

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 4 June 2021)

Why we inspected

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

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Autumn Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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

Autumn Lodge is a residential care home and was providing personal care and accommodation to 34 older people at the time of this inspection. The service can support up to 36 people. The home is comprised of three Victorian buildings converted into one home. Accommodation for people is over three floors. People have access to a lift, a garden with patio area and pond. There are various communal areas such as a conservatory, a lounge and dining room. The home specialises in providing care to people living with dementia.

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

Safety at the home required improvement. Some risk assessments and short support plans did not have enough information on how staff should reduce risk, and there were inconsistencies between the information on the short support plans and the care plans. The provider told us these had been corrected since the inspection and monitoring put in place to ensure it did not happen again. Staff told us they knew people well.

The registered manager had not identified discrepancies between care plans and risk assessments on paper and electronic systems. Contradictions within care records meant that people might have received the wrong support from staff.

Staff and relatives told us the registered manager was approachable. A staff member said, "The manager is so open to talk to, not like at other homes where you don't even see them." A relative said, “They are constantly looking at ways to improve, I like that about the registered manager."

People were protected from the risk of infection. The provider had ensured staff had access to PPE supplies of a higher standard than government guidance recommended, and the home was clean. Staff were kept up to date with current COVID-19 guidance at regular staff meetings.

People had their needs and choices assessed and their care plans included short support plans which detailed day to day likes and dislikes as well as communication and mobility needs. A friend of a person at the home told us, "She's safe and happy and I am confident and relieved she is there."

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. People were able to take positive risks and were supported to continue to live life as they chose. A staff member said, "People are all different, they all need choices, not everyone wants to get up at the same time and it's a mistake to try and stick to routines, it doesn't make things easier, people being happy makes things easier."

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 9 April 2019 and due to the COVID-19 pandemic this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part by notification from the home of a specific accident where a person fell on a flight of stairs and subsequently died. This inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident, but we looked at how the home is managing risks.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements to the way they manage and record risks. Please see the Safe and Well-led sections of this report.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

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.