Lindhurst Lodge Residential Home

Updated 31 August 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Act.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was completed by two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Lindhurst Lodge Residential Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Lindhurst Lodge Residential Home is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority, local clinical commissioning group and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with seven people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spent time observing the daily life in the service and we looked around the building to check environmental safety and cleanliness.

We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, care staff and other ancillary staff. We obtained feedback from two community health professionals who visit the service, to obtain their views about the care people received.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and support. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 31 August 2022

About the service

Lindhurst Lodge Residential Home is a care home which provides personal care to up to 37 people. The service mainly provides support to older people and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 26 people using the service.

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

People felt safe using the service. There were enough staff to keep people safe and deliver personal care in a timely manner, however staff did not have enough time to support people to take part in regular activities that were of interest to them. We have made a recommendation about the daily activity provision in the service.

Staff were kind and caring. People were supported by staff who knew them well and encouraged them to remain involved in decisions about their care. 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 gave mixed feedback about the food provided by the service. Most people told us the quality of the food needed to improve. People and their relatives also wanted the provider to refurbish the home’s environment, as some areas of the service looked tired and outdated. The registered manager had a refurbishment plan in place to gradually improve this.

People’s medicines were managed safely, and suitable infection prevention and control measures were in place. Risks to people were assessed and kept under regular review. There were systems in place to learn from any accidents and incidents, to reduce the risk of them happening again.

People received care in line with their wishes. Staff were given clear information about how to communicate effectively with each person. People told us staff treated them well and respected their preferences. People and their relatives knew how to make a complaint if they needed to and the provider had a suitable system in place to act on any complaints they received.

The provider and registered manager regularly completed a range of checks on the service to support the service to improve. Some of these checks were effective and improvements had been made. However, the provider’s audit system needed to be more comprehensive to ensure all areas of the service were kept under review and there were no missed opportunities to improve the service further.

The service had a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. Staff enjoyed their jobs and received training and supervision to support them in their roles. There were systems in place to ensure the service was open and transparent with people. Some improvements were needed in this area to ensure the provider’s duty of candour policy, which is about being open and honest, was consistently followed.

Staff had opportunities to provide feedback about the service to support it to improve. People and their relatives had not been given enough recent opportunities to share their ideas and views about the service, though the registered manager agreed to address this. Staff worked closely with other organisations and community health professionals. Health professionals who visited the home told us staff contacted them in a timely manner and listened to their advice.

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

Rating at last inspection

There was a change in the provider of this service on 2 November 2020. This was the service’s first inspection since the change in provider.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was requires improvement (published on 14 September 2019). The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last four consecutive inspections.

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 key question of ‘is the service safe?’. 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.

Recommendations

We have made a recommendation about the daily activity provision in the service.

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.