CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Homer Lodge Care Centre
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Risks to people's health and welfare were assessed and reviewed. Inspectors found enough staff, safe recruitment, safe medicines management and systems for safeguarding and learning from incidents.
- Effective?
- Good
- Staff training and supervision had improved, and people's health, eating, drinking and access to healthcare were monitored. The home was also making changes to improve safety and accessibility.
- Caring?
- Good
- Staff were described as kind and caring. People were supported to make everyday choices, maintain their independence and receive care with privacy and dignity.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care plans reflected people's physical, mental, emotional and social needs. Staff shared information when needs changed, and activities, communication support and end-of-life care were provided.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Management oversight and audits had improved. The registered manager was described as approachable, and the home investigated complaints, incidents and safeguarding concerns.
What inspectors found, September 2023
Homer Lodge Care Centre: Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and well-managed care, with improvements since the previous inspection.
This was an unannounced follow-up inspection on 29 June 2023. One inspector spoke with people living at the home, relatives and staff, and checked care records, medicine records and management records.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safer risk assessments, safe medicines management, kind staff, personalised care and better checks on the quality of care.
The previous inspection, on 20 October 2022, rated the home Requires Improvement and found breaches of regulations. The provider had received warning notices about safe care and treatment and good governance. At this inspection, the CQC found enough improvement and said the home was no longer in breach.
Improved risk management
The home had improved how it identified and reviewed risks. Care records gave staff guidance about equipment, monitoring and repositioning.
“Potential risks to people were assessed and kept under review to promote their safety.” from the report
Kind and respectful staff
People said staff were kind and caring. Staff supported people's choices, privacy, dignity and independence.
“Staff were knowledgeable about people's needs and knew their preferences. People told us the staff were kind and caring.” from the report
Better staff training
The provider had reviewed its training system and monitored what staff had completed. Staff were also observed carrying out care tasks and received supervision.
“They were working with a new training provider and had implemented monitoring.” from the report
Stronger management checks
The management team had improved its oversight of care and followed up actions identified through audits.
“Audits were in place which consistently highlighted areas for improvements and actions were monitored to ensure improvements were made.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans considered people's physical, mental, emotional and social needs. Staff were updated when people's needs changed.
“People's care plans reflected a person-centred approach to care.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01What checks are now used to make sure risk assessments and care plans stay up to date when people's needs change?
- 02How do you monitor staff training, supervision and competency after the improvements described in the report?
- 03Which environmental improvements are still being completed, including the outside space, lighting and bathrooms?
- 04How are activities matched to each person's interests, abilities and communication needs?
- 05How are people's end-of-life wishes recorded, reviewed and shared with their family and healthcare professionals?
This was an unannounced follow-up inspection covering all five CQC questions, after the previous Requires Improvement rating and regulatory breaches. This explanation was written from the published report of 1 September 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, October 2022
Rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found serious gaps in risk management, staff training and governance, with warning notices issued.
This was an unannounced inspection on 21 June 2022. Two inspectors spoke with people and staff, checked care and medicines records, reviewed recruitment files and examined training and management information.
The home was not always safe. Risks were not consistently assessed or recorded, one person did not have suitable plans to reduce the risk of leaving unsupervised, and a prescribed medicine was given two days late. Some stairwells were also not secure.
Staff training records showed important gaps, including expired safeguarding and moving and handling training. Care plans contained some conflicting or out-of-date information. The home had systems to monitor quality, but these did not reliably find or prevent the problems inspectors identified.
There were also positive findings. People said they felt safe, staff followed infection control measures, people received suitable support with food and healthcare, and staff generally supported people's choices. The overall rating stayed at Requires Improvement, the same as at the previous inspection.
Infection control
Inspectors were assured that the home had suitable measures for preventing and managing infections, including the use of protective equipment and testing.
“We were assured that the provider was preventing visitors from catching and spreading infections.” from the report
Food and dietary support
Care plans recorded people's dietary needs and preferences. Staff understood these needs and people gave positive feedback about the food.
“People were supported effectively to maintain a balanced diet.” from the report
Healthcare support
The home worked effectively with outside healthcare professionals. Inspectors found that referrals were made promptly when needed.
“Joint working with external professionals was effective. This meant people had access to timely healthcare when needed.” from the report
Respect for choices
People were offered choices and staff used the least restrictive approach. Capacity assessments and legal authorisations were recorded where needed.
“The care home had a positive culture of offering choices to people.” from the report
Risks were not managed
seriousA person repeatedly tried to leave without support, but there were no suitable care plans or risk assessments. Some stairwells were also accessible to people who could not keep themselves safe.
“At the time of the inspection no care plans or risk assessments had been developed to support staff in relation to the person trying to leave the service unsupported.” from the report
Medicines errors
seriousA weekly medicine was given two days late because it had been forgotten. The home had not taken effective action to prevent similar errors happening again.
“People did not always receive their prescribed medicines and they were not always managed safely.” from the report
Staff training gaps
seriousTraining records showed expired safeguarding and moving and handling training. The home could not show that practical moving and handling competencies had been checked.
“We could not be assured staff had adequate moving and handling training.” from the report
Weak monitoring systems
needs fixingAudits did not identify important problems found during the inspection, including risks, medicines errors and training gaps. Some care plans also needed updating and contained conflicting information.
“Further work was needed to develop and embed systems and processes for quality monitoring.” from the report
Worn furnishings
minorSome areas needed redecoration, and furniture was worn or stained. Inspectors said this affected cleanliness and comfort.
“In the lounge area we found many chairs to be stained and worn this not only compromised the effectiveness of the cleaning but also compromised the comfort for people.” from the report
- 01What action has been taken to assess and manage the risk of people leaving the home unsupervised?
- 02How are medicines now checked, and what has changed to prevent missed or late doses?
- 03How do you make sure all staff have current safeguarding and moving and handling training, including practical competency checks?
- 04How are audits now checked to make sure they identify risks, incidents, medicines errors and training gaps?
- 05Have all care plans been moved to one reliable system and checked for current, accurate information?
This was a focused inspection prompted by concerns about care quality, staff training and governance, with particular attention to Safe, Effective and Well-led; Caring and Responsive were not rated in this report. This explanation was written from the published report of 20 October 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 Homer Lodge Care Centre
8 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- September 2023Goodcurrent ratingup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- October 2022Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- June 2021Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- February 2019Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- January 2019Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- March 2018Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- November 2016Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- July 2015Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- August 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- April 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 24 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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9 live-in carers within about an hour of Lincolnshire
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.
8 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
“Martin was more than a carer, he managed the home and became my uncle's best friend, enriching his life during his last few years.”
“Magda was always positive and proactive about trying new things to keep dad busy. She also introduced new ideas for keeping dad healthy.”
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.