CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Heron Lodge
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors were assured that the home had suitable infection prevention and control arrangements. These included visitor screening, safe admissions, use of protective equipment, testing and outbreak management.
- Effective?
- Good
- Does the care work? Training, consent, food and drink, working with GPs and nurses.
- Caring?
- Good
- Are people treated with kindness and dignity?
- Responsive?
- Good
- Is care built around the person? Care plans, activities, complaints.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Is the home run well? The manager, the culture, how problems get found and fixed.
What inspectors found, February 2021
Heron Lodge was inspected but not rated; inspectors found good infection control arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inspectors visited the home on 12 February 2021. The visit was announced and targeted. It checked infection prevention and control arrangements during the coronavirus pandemic.
Inspectors were assured that visitors were screened, people were admitted safely, protective equipment was used properly and testing was available. They also found that the home had up-to-date infection control policies and arrangements for preventing or managing outbreaks.
People told inspectors they felt safe and well supported. The home helped people keep in touch with relatives and friends, and supported activities to reduce social isolation. The service was inspected but not rated, so this report does not give an overall quality rating.
Safe admissions
Managers carried out risk-assessed visits before admission and screened people for COVID-19. New residents were supported to self-isolate in line with government guidance.
“Managers completed risk assessed visits to people in their own homes to ensure they completed COVID-19 screening prior to admission.” from the report
Contact with relatives
The home helped people stay in regular contact with friends and relatives through technology and risk-assessed visits.
“Staff supported people to maintain regular contact with friends and relatives, through the use of technology, as well as COVID-19 risk assessed visits to the service.” from the report
Visitor screening
Visitors were screened before entering the home to help prevent the spread of infection.
“Staff completed a detailed screening process with visitors to ensure they were safe to enter the service, with the aim of preventing the spread of infection.” from the report
People felt safe
People told inspectors they felt safe and supported. They also described activities and events that helped reduce social isolation.
“People we spoke with told us they felt safe and well supported living at the service.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How have your infection prevention and control arrangements changed since the inspection on 12 February 2021?
- 02How do you currently screen visitors and manage visits from relatives?
- 03What is your current process for safely admitting new residents and managing self-isolation?
- 04How do you now prevent and manage infection outbreaks?
- 05What information can you provide about care quality areas that were not covered by this targeted inspection?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control during COVID-19; the service was inspected but not rated. This explanation was written from the published report of 23 February 2021 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 2018
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with significant improvements since the previous inspection.
This was an unannounced inspection on 5 and 8 December 2017. One inspector observed care, spoke with people, relatives and staff, and reviewed care plans, medicines, recruitment, training and quality records.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines practices, suitable training, kind care and strong support for people's choices, activities and family relationships.
The home had made significant improvements since the previous inspection in October 2016. Earlier problems with personalised care and quality monitoring had been addressed, and the home was no longer in breach of the regulations involved.
Personalised care
Care was centred on each person, including their preferences, strengths and aspirations. Staff found creative ways to involve people who could not leave their rooms.
“We saw that the care provided was centred around each person as an individual and staff came up with innovative ways to ensure people could be included” from the report
Kind and respectful staff
People and relatives said staff were caring and listened to them. Inspectors saw staff promoting privacy, dignity, choice and independence.
“People told us that staff were caring and consistently treated them with kindness, compassion, empathy and respect.” from the report
Food and drink
People had enough to eat and drink and could choose alternatives. Staff followed guidance for people needing extra support with eating, drinking or special diets.
“People using the service were supported to have sufficient amounts to eat and drink and maintain a balanced diet.” from the report
Improved management
The provider had improved its quality checks and used incidents, complaints and other feedback to make changes.
“We saw that there were effective quality assurance systems in place and information technology was also used to help monitor and improve the quality of care.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How would you assess and review my relative's individual care needs and preferences?
- 02How do you use staffing levels and the dependency tool when people's needs change?
- 03How would you manage my relative's medicines, including medicines prescribed as needed?
- 04How would you include my relative in activities if they preferred to stay in their room or could not leave it?
- 05What quality checks and incident reviews are currently used to identify and fix problems?
This was an unannounced inspection that looked at the overall service and all five CQC questions, including the care and premises. This explanation was written from the published report of 21 February 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 Heron Lodge
2 rated inspections over a year: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- February 2021Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- February 2018Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- November 2016Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- July 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- October 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- April 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 16 December 2010.
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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13 live-in carers within about an hour of Norfolk
These are self-employed carers on PrimeCarers, the introductory agency that runs this directory. Each has a profile with their own rates and reviews from families, and you choose who to talk to.
Most charge £990 to £1,120 a week. 9 can care for a couple. 14 years' experience on average.
Every carer has had an enhanced DBS check in the last 18 months, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview. Their skills and training are for you to check with them. Carers set their own rates, and who is free changes week to week.