CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Astral Lodge Residential Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, March 2022
Inspected but not rated; inspectors found good infection control and safe visiting arrangements during a targeted COVID-19 inspection.
The CQC made an unannounced visit on 22 February 2022. This was a targeted inspection during the COVID-19 pandemic. It looked mainly at infection control, visiting arrangements and staffing pressures.
Inspectors were assured that the home used personal protective equipment safely, followed social distancing and shielding rules, carried out testing, and kept its infection control policy up to date. Staff had received infection control training.
The home had created a separate visiting room so relatives could visit without walking through the main service. Telephone and video calls were also used when visits could not take place.
The service was inspected but not rated. This report does not provide an overall quality rating or ratings for most areas of care.
Safe visits
The home used individual risk assessments and a separate visiting room to support safer visits from relatives. Other contact was provided by telephone and video calls when visits could not happen.
“The registered manager had followed government guidance to support people to have visits safely from their relatives.” from the report
Infection control
Inspectors were assured that the home followed infection prevention guidance, used PPE safely, carried out testing and kept its policy up to date.
“The registered manager had followed government guidance on infection prevention control measures and had kept these up to date.” from the report
Staff training
Staff had training in infection prevention and in using PPE effectively.
“All staff had received training on infection prevention control and how to use PPE effectively.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01What staffing pressures are you experiencing now, and what measures are in place to manage them?
- 02How are visits currently arranged, and is the separate visiting room still being used?
- 03How often are people living here and staff tested for COVID-19 or other infections?
- 04How do you make sure visiting professionals meet the current vaccination or exemption requirements?
- 05When was the infection prevention and control policy last reviewed?
This was an unannounced targeted inspection of infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and COVID-19-related staffing pressures; the service was inspected but not rated and the other care areas were not assessed. This explanation was written from the published report of 16 March 2022 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
What inspectors found, November 2018
Astral Lodge Residential Home was rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with no serious risks identified.
This was an unannounced inspection on 16 October 2018. One inspector spoke with people living in the home, relatives and staff. They also observed care and reviewed care records, staff recruitment files, audits and policies.
The inspectors found that people were safe and supported by enough staff. Medicines were administered by trained staff, risks were reviewed, and infection control systems were in place. People were supported with food, healthcare and decisions about their care.
People described the care as kind and respectful. Staff knew people well, care plans were detailed, and people could take part in activities and keep in touch with family and the community. The manager gathered feedback and used checks to monitor the service.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. It had also been rated Good at the previous inspection, and inspectors found no serious risks or concerns during this inspection.
Enough staff
Inspectors saw staff available to spend time with people and meet their needs. People and relatives also said staff were always available.
“There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs.” from the report
Safe medicines
Only trained and competent staff administered medicines. Records were completed correctly and medicines were regularly audited.
“Medicines were managed and administered safely.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
Staff knew people well, respected their privacy and supported their independence. Inspectors saw warm and positive relationships between staff and people.
“We saw that staff took time to talk with people and engaged with them in a respectful way.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans included people's histories, preferences and support needs. People and relatives were involved in planning and reviewing care.
“Care plans were very detailed and regularly reviewed with people so that staff had the most up to date and relevant information.” from the report
Listening and improvement
The manager gathered feedback from people, relatives and professionals and carried out audits covering areas such as care plans, accidents and the environment.
“The registered manager had quality monitoring systems in place to continually review and improve the quality of the service provided to people.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How many staff are normally on duty during the day and at night, and how do you adjust staffing when people's needs change?
- 02How are medicines checked now, including medicines records and staff competency?
- 03How will you involve my relative and our family in creating and reviewing their care plan?
- 04What activities are available for someone who prefers one-to-one support rather than group activities?
- 05How do you assess and support communication needs, including eyesight, hearing or difficulty speaking?
This was an unannounced inspection of the overall quality of the home, covering all five key questions and reviewing care, staffing, records, policies and feedback. This explanation was written from the published report of 6 November 2018 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Astral Lodge Residential Home
2 rated inspections over 2 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- March 2022Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
Read what inspectors found at Astral Lodge Residential Home →
- November 2018Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
Read what inspectors found at Astral Lodge Residential Home →
- May 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- July 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- June 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- July 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 28 January 2011.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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