CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Jennifer's Lodge
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Requires improvement
- Inspectors were assured about infection prevention and control. They found arrangements covering visitors, PPE, testing, social distancing, safe admissions, hygiene and managing outbreaks.
- 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, April 2021
Inspected but not rated; inspectors found good infection control and COVID-19 safety arrangements at Jennifer's Lodge.
This was a targeted inspection on 26 March 2021. It looked only at infection prevention and control measures during the coronavirus pandemic. The inspection was announced.
Inspectors were assured that the home had arrangements to prevent infections spreading. This included visitor controls, social distancing, safe admissions, effective use of PPE, testing and cleaning.
The home had an infection prevention policy and procedures for outbreaks. Staff had COVID-19 risk assessments, and a furlough scheme was available when it was not safe for staff to work.
The home was inspected but not rated overall. The Safe question was also inspected but not rated. The other four areas were not covered by this inspection.
Visitor infection controls
The home had guidance and instructions for visitors, which were displayed and explained by the receptionist. Staff were following PPE and social distancing guidance.
“The provider followed best practice guidance to ensure visitors to the home did not introduce and spread COVID-19.” from the report
PPE arrangements
The provider had a required procedure explaining what protective equipment staff and visitors should use and when.
“The provider created a mandatory Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) procedure to inform staff of the appropriate equipment for visitors and staff and when it should be worn.” from the report
Staff risk assessments
All staff had a COVID-19 risk assessment that considered whether they were in a vulnerable group. A furlough scheme was available when working was not safe.
“The provider had ensured all staff had a COVID-19 risk assessment in place, which took account of people in a vulnerable group.” from the report
Infection prevention policy
The home had a detailed policy covering infectious disease outbreaks, handwashing and uniform care during COVID-19.
“The provider had a comprehensive infection prevention and control policy that outlined the requirement for outbreaks of infectious diseases” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are visitors currently checked and given information to prevent infections spreading?
- 02What PPE procedures are staff and visitors expected to follow now?
- 03How are people using the home and staff tested for infections?
- 04How are staff COVID-19 or other infection risks assessed and managed?
- 05What arrangements are in place to prevent and manage an infectious disease outbreak?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control under the Safe question; it was not a full inspection and the service was inspected but not rated. This explanation was written from the published report of 24 April 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, August 2019
Overall Good, but Safe Requires Improvement because critical fire doors were routinely propped open.
This was an unannounced inspection on 9 and 12 July 2019. One inspector spoke with people living at the home, relatives, staff and professionals. They reviewed care plans, medicines records, staff files and safety records.
The overall rating was Good. Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led were rated Good. Safe remained Requires Improvement because several fire doors were routinely left open, which could allow smoke to spread and delay evacuation.
Inspectors found kind and personalised care. People were supported with food, medicines, health appointments, activities and relationships. The home was clean, staff knew people well, and records and procedures had improved since the previous inspection.
Personalised care
Care plans reflected people's choices, needs and preferences. They were written with people's involvement where possible and reviewed regularly.
“People's care plans were highly personalised. They were written with people's input as much as possible and documented their choices, needs and preferences.” from the report
Kind and respectful staff
Inspectors saw staff treating people kindly and respectfully. People and relatives gave very positive feedback about the atmosphere and care.
“We saw staff treating people with kindness and respect. Relatives told us, "staff are nice and friendly" and "it's so homely, like a home from home.” from the report
Activities and community access
People were supported to follow their interests, spend time with others and maintain links with family, faith groups and the wider community.
“People were supported to follow their interests and take part in activities both inside and outside the home.” from the report
Clean home and fresh food
The home was clean and tidy. Inspectors found food was fresh, plentiful and suitable for people's dietary needs.
“The home was very clean and tidy. People told us they enjoyed the food and we could see it was fresh and plentiful.” from the report
Fire doors left open
seriousSeveral fire doors on all floors were propped open as part of the usual routine. Inspectors said this could let smoke spread, delay evacuation and put people at serious risk.
“We observed several fire doors in corridors on all floors that were propped open, which would lead to smoke spreading were there to be a fire anywhere in the building.” from the report
- 01What action has been taken to stop critical fire doors being propped open?
- 02How do you check each day that all fire doors are closed and safe?
- 03What were the results of the recent external fire safety assessment?
- 04How would you support my relative to evacuate safely if there were a fire?
- 05What improvements have been made since the previous inspection, and how are they being checked?
This was an unannounced planned inspection covering all five CQC questions, including care, premises, staffing, records and management. This explanation was written from the published report of 7 August 2019 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 Jennifer's Lodge
4 rated inspections over 4 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- April 2021Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- August 2019Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- July 2018Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- April 2017Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- April 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- February 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 10 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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At least 100 live-in carers within about an hour of Lewisham
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Most charge £950 to £1,260 a week. 82 can care for a couple. 11 years' experience on average.
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