CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Leah Lodge Care Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors were assured that the home was preventing and managing infection risks, including visitor safety, admissions, PPE, testing, hygiene and 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
Leah Lodge Care Home was inspected but not rated; inspectors found good infection control and safe arrangements for visitors.
This was an announced, targeted inspection on 26 February 2021. It looked only at infection prevention and control during the coronavirus pandemic.
Inspectors were assured that the home was managing visitors, social distancing, shielding, admissions, personal protective equipment, testing, hygiene and outbreaks appropriately. The home also had an up-to-date infection prevention and control policy.
People could see visitors in a separate glass room, or stay in contact by phone or video call. The home also sent families newsletters about events. The service was inspected but not rated, so this report does not give an overall quality rating.
Visitor safety
The home used information, instructions, social distancing and a separate glass room to reduce the risk of infection from visitors.
“People were supported to see their visitors in a separate glass room with separate entrances for visitors and residents” from the report
Infection control arrangements
The home had arrangements for isolation rooms and an up-to-date infection prevention and control policy.
“The provider had an infection prevention and control policy that outlined the requirement for isolation rooms” from the report
Family contact
When visits were not possible, people could contact families by phone or video call. Families also received newsletters about events in the home.
“When this was not possible, people were supported to speak to their families on the phone or via video call.” from the report
Support for vulnerable staff
Staff who were more vulnerable to COVID-19 had risk assessments. Where working was unsafe, the provider had a furlough scheme.
“The provider had ensured staff who were more vulnerable to COVID-19had a risk assessment in place” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are visitors currently kept safe from introducing or spreading infections?
- 02How are isolation rooms used for people with COVID-19 or people admitted from hospital or the community?
- 03How are people supported to keep in touch with their families when visits are not possible?
- 04How are people using the service and staff accessed for COVID-19 testing?
- 05How have infection prevention arrangements changed since the inspection on 26 February 2021?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control under the Safe question only; the service was inspected but not rated. This explanation was written from the published report of 13 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, April 2019
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with one medicines error identified and dealt with.
This was an unannounced, comprehensive inspection over 22 and 25 February 2019. One inspector spoke with people living at the home, relatives, staff and health professionals. They also reviewed care records, staff files and management records.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. People said they felt safe, staff were kind, the home was clean and people received the food, healthcare and support they needed.
The inspection found clear risk assessments, safe medicines systems, suitable staffing and good records. People were involved in their care, their privacy was respected and activities were provided to support their social needs.
The previous inspection, published in February 2018, rated the home Requires Improvement. This inspection found improvements in end of life and dementia care, responses to changing needs, electronic care records and quality checks.
Safe staffing and risk planning
Inspectors found enough staff were scheduled and saw detailed risk assessments with clear guidance for care staff.
“Care records included detailed risk assessments that outlined the areas of risk regarding people's care as well as clear guidelines for care staff in managing these.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
People gave positive feedback about staff. Inspectors observed caring conversations and staff respecting people's privacy, choices and independence.
“We observed kind and caring interactions between people and care staff and overheard conversations that demonstrated that staff knew people well.” from the report
Personalised care
Care records included people's histories, preferences, health needs and choices. People and relatives said they were involved in planning care.
“People and their relatives confirmed they were involved in planning their care and support.” from the report
Improved dementia and end of life support
The report says staff had gained appropriate training and understood people's dementia and end of life needs better than at the previous inspection.
“At this inspection we found care staff understood people's end of life care and dementia needs and had received appropriate training to meet these.” from the report
Better oversight
The electronic records and auditing systems had improved since the previous inspection. Audits covered medicines, health and safety and infection control.
“At this inspection we found the provider had a robust auditing system in place which captured information about the quality of care and areas that required further action.” from the report
One missed medicines dose
minorInspectors found one medicines error when a person left the home unexpectedly without their afternoon dose. The matter was reported to the GP and senior staff, and learning was recorded.
“We identified one medicines error.” from the report
- 01How do you make sure medicines are taken when a resident leaves the home unexpectedly?
- 02How are residents' changing dementia or complex care needs reviewed and acted on?
- 03What training do staff receive for dementia care and end of life care?
- 04How are care records and daily notes checked to make sure they remain accurate and up to date?
- 05How do you use feedback from residents and relatives to make changes to the service?
This was an unannounced planned comprehensive inspection covering the home, the care provided and all five CQC questions. This explanation was written from the published report of 17 April 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 Leah Lodge Care Home
2 rated inspections over a year: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- April 2021Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- April 2019Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- February 2018Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- December 2016
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 3 December 2016.
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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