What the CQC found at Liberty Lodge

People and others spoken with described staff as caring, friendly and respectful. Inspectors found that people were involved in their care and treated with dignity.

“People were supported and treated with dignity and respect; and involved as partners in their care.” from the report

Care plans reflected people's individual needs, preferences and goals. People were supported to build independence and plan for their future.

“People had needs assessments and care plans that directed staff to give care personalised to the individual.” from the report

There were enough staff to keep people safe. Staff from the provider's other homes covered absences, so agency staff were not needed and people were cared for by staff they knew.

“The registered manager used staff from 2 of the provider's other homes to cover as needed which meant there was no need to use agency staff and people were always cared for by staff they knew.” from the report

Staff were trained and assessed as competent to give medicines. Records showed medicines were given at the right times and allergies were recorded.

“People's medication records showed they received their medicines at the right times and allergies were recorded.” from the report

People were supported to attend college, voluntary work, church, healthcare appointments and local activities. They could also take part in cooking and laundry with support where needed.

“Staff supported people to access activities in the local community, including attending church, voluntary work and college.” from the report

There was no recent Legionella risk assessment, no water temperature checks and no required training for the manager. Inspectors said people were not protected against this infection risk.

“At the time of inspection, there was no recent risk assessment to determine what checks and precautions the service should take to keep people safe from Legionella.” from the report

The provider had quality monitoring systems, but they did not identify the missing Legionella assessment and training. This contributed to the Requires Improvement well-led rating.

“However, the provider had failed to identify that the service had not had a recent Legionella risk assessment.” from the report

There had been no recorded incidents since the previous inspection, but inspectors were not clear whether learning from incidents at other homes was shared across the provider.

“it was not clear if there was a system in place for sharing learning from incidents at provider level.” from the report

End of life care was not routinely discussed with people. It had been covered where a person was identified as needing this.

“End of life care was not routinely discussed with people but it had been addressed where there was an identified need.” from the report