CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Broom Lodge
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Risks were assessed and reduced, including risks linked to epilepsy and oxygen. Inspectors found enough staff, safe recruitment, accurate medicine records and effective infection control arrangements.
- Effective?
- Good
- Staff had relevant training and supported people with food, health care, communication and independence. Mental capacity and best-interest decisions were recorded where needed.
- Caring?
- Good
- People were treated with kindness, dignity and respect. Staff used Makaton, PECS, sign language and body language to help people communicate and make choices.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care plans reflected people's needs, wishes and preferences. People were supported to take part in activities, maintain relationships and raise complaints in an accessible way.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Inspectors found effective audits and action plans, with staff clear about their responsibilities. The management team gathered feedback and worked with health and social care organisations.
What inspectors found, January 2023
Broom Lodge was rated Good; inspectors found kind, personalised care and said earlier safety and management breaches had been addressed.
This was a follow-up inspection after the home was rated Requires Improvement in February 2022. One inspector visited, an expert by experience telephoned relatives, and inspectors spoke with people, relatives and staff. They also checked care, medicine, staff and management records.
All five areas were rated Good: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough skilled staff, safe medicine arrangements, kind care, support for people's choices and interests, and effective management checks.
The home had previously breached rules about safe care and treatment and good governance. At this inspection, inspectors found that improvements had been made and that the home was no longer in breach.
Personalised support
People were supported to make choices, communicate in ways that suited them and take part in activities they enjoyed.
“People were involved in discussions about their support and given information in a way they understood.” from the report
Safe staffing and medicines
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs and found that medicines were stored, monitored and recorded safely.
“Medicines administration records (MARs) were up to date and accurate.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
Staff knew people well and supported their privacy, dignity, independence and individual interests.
“People were treated with dignity, respect and kindness.” from the report
Activities and community life
People were supported to enjoy outings, social activities and personal interests, both at the home and in the local area.
“People were supported to participate in their chosen social and leisure interests on a regular basis.” from the report
Improvements in management
The home had acted on earlier findings. Inspectors found effective audits, action plans and oversight of incidents and care records.
“Where the provider identified issues, they put action plans in place to make improvements and these were regularly reviewed.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are epilepsy, oxygen and other individual risks assessed and reviewed now?
- 02How do you support people to manage or take part in their own medicines, and how are medicines reviewed to avoid over-medication?
- 03How do you make sure staff use each person's preferred communication method, such as Makaton, PECS, sign language or an iPad?
- 04What regular activities and outings are available, and how are people involved in choosing them?
- 05What audits and checks are currently used to make sure the improvements found in this report have been maintained?
This was a follow-up inspection covering all five key questions, including infection prevention and control under Safe; the report says visits took place on 28 November and 05 December 2022, while the front page lists 27 November and 05 December 2022. This explanation was written from the published report of 6 January 2023 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, February 2022
Broom Lodge rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind care and good activities, but safety, training and oversight needed work.
Inspectors visited on 12 and 19 October, and 5 and 9 November 2021. They observed care, spoke with staff and relatives, and checked care plans, medicines, recruitment and management records.
People were treated kindly. Staff supported meals, activities and access to the community. There were enough staff, medicines were generally handled effectively, and infection control arrangements were in place.
However, some risks were not assessed or managed in enough detail. Records sometimes conflicted or were incomplete, some staff training was outstanding, and mental capacity assessments did not always contain enough detail. The home’s checks had not found all these problems.
The overall rating was Requires Improvement. Caring and Responsive were rated Good. Safe, Effective and Well-led were rated Requires Improvement. This was the first inspection since the service registered.
Kind and compassionate care
Inspectors saw staff providing care in a kind and compassionate way. Relatives described the atmosphere as warm and friendly.
“We observed staff deliver care and support in a kind and compassionate manner.” from the report
Enough staff
The provider reviewed people’s dependency levels and inspectors found there were enough staff to meet people’s needs.
“There were enough staff to meet people's needs.” from the report
Activities and community access
People were supported to take part in meaningful activities and go out into the community. Staff supported individual interests, including music and DJ skills.
“Staff were enthusiastic about providing people with the opportunity to engage in meaningful activities.” from the report
Food and choices
Staff supported people to choose meals and provided healthy options. People’s weights were monitored to check they were eating enough.
“Staff supported people to choose what they wanted to eat and provided healthy options.” from the report
Risks were not managed fully
seriousRisk guidance was missing or not detailed enough in several areas, including epilepsy, oxygen use, restraint and falls. This left people at risk of harm.
“Robust systems had not been established to assess, monitor and mitigate risks to the health, safety and welfare of people using the service.” from the report
Incomplete medicines records
needs fixingSome medicines records contained out-of-date information. The manager improved the records during the inspection after receiving feedback.
“People's medicines records were not always complete.” from the report
Training gaps
needs fixingSome staff had not completed mandatory training, and six staff had not received condition-specific learning disability and autism training.
“Not all staff working at the service had completed mandatory training, including assessing risks, health and safety, moving and handling and positive behaviour support.” from the report
Care records were inconsistent
needs fixingSome care plans contained conflicting information. Records were also not routinely available in an accessible format, and some communication guidance was missing.
“People's care and support plans sometimes contained conflicting information about the care and support they needed.” from the report
Management checks missed problems
seriousAudits did not identify gaps in care records, medicines records, staff training and accessible information. This limited opportunities to learn and improve.
“The provider had failed to ensure effective systems were in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality of the service.” from the report
- 01What has been changed to make risk assessments and guidance clear for epilepsy, oxygen use, falls and physical restraint?
- 02Which staff have now completed mandatory training and condition-specific learning disability and autism training?
- 03How do you check that medicines records are complete and up to date?
- 04How will you make care records and communication guidance accessible and consistent?
- 05What action has been taken in response to the Regulation 12 and Regulation 17 breaches, and how will progress be checked?
This was the first inspection of the newly registered care home and covered all five key questions, including infection prevention and control arrangements. This explanation was written from the published report of 17 February 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.
Every inspection of Broom Lodge
2 rated inspections over a year: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- January 2023Goodcurrent ratingup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- February 2022Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- April 2021
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 1 April 2021.
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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Most charge £960 to £1,210 a week. 42 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
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