CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Marlin Lodge
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors were assured about infection prevention and control, including protective equipment, testing, cleaning, visiting and the handling of outbreaks. The provider also described measures to manage COVID-19-related staffing pressures.
- Effective?
- Good
- This question was not assessed in this targeted inspection.
- Caring?
- Good
- This question was not assessed in this targeted inspection.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This question was not assessed in this targeted inspection.
- Well-led?
- Good
- This question was not assessed in this targeted inspection.
What inspectors found, February 2022
Marlin Lodge was inspected but not rated; inspectors found strong infection-control arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was an unannounced, targeted inspection on 24 January 2022. Inspectors checked infection prevention and control arrangements and asked about staffing pressures linked to COVID-19.
The home had measures for visitors, including testing, vaccination evidence and protective equipment. People were supported to keep in touch with family and friends through calls and different types of visits.
Inspectors were assured about the use of protective equipment, testing, cleaning, social distancing, visiting arrangements and the infection-control policy. The home was clean and free from bad smells.
The home was inspected but not rated. This means the inspection did not give an overall quality rating or a rated judgement for safe care.
Visitor infection controls
The home had several measures intended to reduce infection risks for visitors and people living there.
“Processes were in place for visitors to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in the home.” from the report
Contact with family
People were supported to stay in contact with friends and family during lockdowns through calls and different visiting arrangements.
“People had been supported to maintain contact with friends and family during the COVID-19 lockdowns through use of telephone and video calls.” from the report
Protective equipment and testing
The home provided workshops on protective equipment and infection control. Inspectors saw people and staff using protective equipment correctly, and regular testing was completed.
“People and staff were observed wearing PPE correctly during the inspection.” from the report
Clean environment
Inspectors found the home clean and without bad smells. Frequently touched areas received extra cleaning and environmental checks were completed.
“The care home was clean and free from mal odours.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How do you now manage COVID-19 or other infection outbreaks, and when was the infection-control policy last updated?
- 02How do you support family visits and contact if infection-control restrictions are needed?
- 03How do you make sure staff and visiting professionals meet the current vaccination or exemption requirements?
- 04What measures are in place now if COVID-19 causes staff shortages?
- 05How often are people and staff tested when there is an infection risk?
This was an unannounced targeted inspection of infection prevention and control practices and COVID-19-related staffing pressures; it did not assess the other four quality questions or give an overall rating. This explanation was written from the published report of 11 February 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.
What inspectors found, February 2019
Marlin Lodge was rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with improvements made since the previous inspection.
This was an announced comprehensive inspection carried out between 16 and 22 January 2019. The inspector spoke with people, staff, relatives and other professionals. They observed care and checked care records, staff files, training, medicines, complaints and quality checks.
The home supported 16 people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum conditions. Inspectors found enough staff, safer risk assessments, well-managed medicines, clean premises and suitable safeguarding arrangements. People received personalised support, had choices and were helped to access healthcare, activities and relationships.
All five areas were rated Good: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. The previous inspection in November 2017 rated the service Requires Improvement and found two regulatory breaches. Inspectors said the required improvements had been made.
People felt safe
People and relatives said they felt safe. Staff understood safeguarding procedures and knew how to report concerns.
“There were now effective systems and risk assessments to safeguard people from harm.” from the report
Personalised support and activities
Care plans reflected people's needs, choices and preferences. Staff supported people with hobbies, holidays, social events and developing life skills.
“The service was very good at supporting people to pursue their hobbies and interests.” from the report
Stronger quality checks
The registered manager carried out regular audits and the provider had employed an external auditor to check the service.
“Since the previous inspection, they had employed an external auditor who carried out this work on their behalf.” from the report
Occasional medicines recording issues
minorMedicines were mainly managed safely, but inspectors found occasional minor recording problems. Ask the home what checks are now in place to prevent these errors.
“The audit records showed medicines were mainly managed safely, with only minor recording issues identified occasionally.” from the report
- 01What were the occasional minor medicines recording issues, and what has been done to prevent them happening again?
- 02How will activities and daytime support change now that day centre provision was due to be reduced from April 2019?
- 03How often are care plans and risk assessments reviewed with the person and their relatives?
- 04How are staff competence checks recorded and followed up if a concern is found?
- 05What did the latest external audit identify, and what actions are still being monitored?
This was an announced comprehensive inspection covering all five key questions and checking whether improvements from the November 2017 inspection had been made. This explanation was written from the published report of 14 February 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 Marlin Lodge
3 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- February 2022Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- February 2019Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- January 2018Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- November 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- October 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- June 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 19 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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