CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Poppy Lodge Care Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, March 2022
Inspected but not rated; inspectors found good infection control and visiting arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was an unannounced, targeted inspection on 14 February 2022. Inspectors looked mainly at infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and the effect of COVID-19 staffing pressures.
The home had measures to reduce infection risks. Inspectors were assured that it used personal protective equipment safely, arranged testing, managed admissions and kept its infection control policy up to date.
People were supported to have visitors. The home had a visiting room in the garden, and individual risk assessments supported safe visits and trips into the community.
The service was inspected but not rated. This means the inspection did not provide a new overall quality rating or full ratings for all five areas.
Safe visiting
Individual risk assessments supported visits to the home, trips into the community and visits with relatives. A separate visiting room in the garden helped relatives access people without going through the home.
“Individual risk assessments were in place to allow for safe visiting at the service, and for people to enjoy visits to the local community or out with their relatives safely.” from the report
Infection control
The home was following government infection control guidance and keeping its arrangements up to date.
“The registered manager had followed government guidance on infection prevention control measures and had kept these up to date.” from the report
Staff training and testing
Staff had training in infection control and PPE. People and staff were regularly tested, with action taken when positive results occurred.
“All staff had received training on infection prevention control and how to use PPE effectively.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are you managing COVID-19 and other infection risks now?
- 02Are visitors still able to use the separate visiting room in the garden?
- 03How do you assess and review risks for visits out with relatives or into the local community?
- 04How do you manage staffing pressures when staff are absent because of illness or COVID-19?
- 05How do you keep staff and visiting professionals up to date with infection control training and vaccination requirements?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and COVID-19 staffing pressures; the service was inspected but not rated and the other areas were not assessed. This explanation was written from the published report of 2 March 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, July 2018
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with no serious risks or concerns identified.
Inspectors made an unannounced visit on 2 July 2018. One inspector observed care, spoke with people living in the home, relatives, staff and a health professional, and reviewed care records, recruitment files, audits and policies.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines arrangements, suitable training, good support with food and healthcare, and care that respected people's choices and dignity.
The home was rated Good at its previous inspection too. This shorter report says the evidence continued to support that rating and found no serious risks or concerns.
Safe staffing and medicines
The home had enough staff to meet people's needs. Medicines were given by trained staff and records checked during the inspection were complete.
“There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
People described a calm home where staff had positive relationships with them and understood their preferences, histories and routines.
“Throughout the inspection we noted there was a very calm and relaxed atmosphere” from the report
Personalised support
People and relatives were involved in care planning. Care plans included personal details and were reviewed at least monthly.
“Care plans were then reviewed with people and updated at least monthly to ensure all care needs were kept up to date.” from the report
Good training and teamwork
Staff received induction, supervision, appraisals and training, including dementia and first aid training. Staff said they worked well as a team.
“People benefited from a staff team that worked together and understood their roles and responsibilities.” from the report
Listening to feedback
The manager gathered views through meetings, questionnaires and a suggestion box, and used feedback to make changes such as introducing staff name badges.
“This showed that the management listened to people's views and responded accordingly to improve their experience at the service.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How would you meet my relative's needs if they needed to share a room?
- 02How would you personalise care for someone living with dementia, including managing noise levels?
- 03How often would you review my relative's care plan, and how would we be involved?
- 04What activities and outings could my relative take part in based on their interests?
- 05How would you support my relative and our family if they needed end-of-life care?
This was an unannounced inspection covering all five quality areas; the Good overall rating and each question rating remained unchanged from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 25 July 2018 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 Poppy Lodge Care Home
2 rated inspections over 2 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- March 2022Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- July 2018Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- March 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2013
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 18 November 2013.
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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52 live-in carers within about an hour of Southend-on-Sea
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Most charge £980 to £1,200 a week. 45 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.
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