CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Rivendale Lodge EMI Care Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, May 2023
Rivendale Lodge EMI Care Home is rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind care and improvements in leadership, with a few records needing attention.
This was an unannounced, focused inspection on 27 April 2023. One inspector reviewed information, observed care, spoke with people, staff and a visitor, and checked care, medicines, recruitment and management records. Further feedback came from relatives and health professionals.
The home was rated Good for Safe and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe recruitment, suitable safeguarding arrangements, safe medicines practice and effective infection control. Care records and daily notes gave staff useful information about people's needs.
The inspection found improvements since the previous inspection. Records of daily care and monthly fire safety lighting checks had improved. Inspectors also found that some PRN medicine protocols and records of medicine competency checks needed action, and the home acted on these points.
People felt safe
People told inspectors they felt safe, and staff understood how to report suspected abuse. Safeguarding referrals were made when required.
“People told us they felt safe living at Rivendale Lodge” from the report
Good care records
Care plans, risk assessments and daily records gave staff information about people's care, activities, mood, food and fluids.
“Staff were completing a detailed account of how people had spent their day in the daily records.” from the report
Enough staff
Inspectors found staffing levels met people's needs. Staff said they had time to sit with people and support activities.
“There were enough staff working to support people's needs in a timely manner.” from the report
Improved leadership
Management systems had improved since the previous inspection. Audits, staff meetings, supervision and checks helped the manager oversee the home.
“At this inspection we found improvements had been made.” from the report
Families were involved
Families said they were consulted about care and could raise concerns. The home used surveys and regular contact to gather feedback.
“Families told us they felt involved in people's care and were consulted when decisions were made.” from the report
PRN protocols
needs fixingSome people needed protocols for medicines given when required. These were not all in place at the time of inspection, although the manager acted immediately.
“Some people required PRN protocols; the registered manager took action to ensure these were in place immediately following the inspection.” from the report
Medicine competency records
minorStaff medicine competency checks were taking place, but the home did not always record them to show they formed part of ongoing training and development.
“These needed to be documented to evidence they were being carried out as part of staff ongoing training and development.” from the report
Incident details
minorThe manager was asked to make accident and incident records consistently detailed enough to identify wounds or injuries. A body map was introduced immediately.
“We discussed with the registered manager ensuring that sufficient detail was consistently recorded to identify wounds or injuries more effectively” from the report
- 01How are PRN medicine protocols now completed and reviewed for each person who needs them?
- 02How do you record and monitor staff competency checks for giving medicines?
- 03How do you make sure accident and incident records include enough detail about any wounds or injuries?
- 04What evidence can you show that the improvements to daily care records and fire safety lighting checks have been maintained?
This was an unannounced focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the other key question ratings were carried forward from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 18 May 2023 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, May 2022
Rivendale Lodge EMI Care Home was rated Good overall; inspectors found safe care but said leadership and record-keeping still required improvement.
The inspection was unannounced and took place on 31 March 2022. One inspector spoke with people, staff, relatives and a health professional. They reviewed care plans, daily records, medicines records, staff rotas, training records and quality checks.
The home was rated Good for Safe. Inspectors found enough staff, safe recruitment, suitable safeguarding procedures and safe medicines systems. The home was clean, and infection prevention measures were in place.
The home was rated Requires Improvement for Well-led, as some records and checks were not consistently completed. These included records about continence, moving and turning people, the effectiveness of some medicines, and monthly emergency-light checks. The manager said action had been taken after the inspection.
The overall rating remained Good, the same as at the previous inspection. The Well-led rating remained Requires Improvement.
Enough staff
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs safely. Vacancies and absences were covered by overtime and, when needed, agency staff.
“There were enough staff to meet people's needs safely.” from the report
Safeguarding
Staff understood how to recognise and report abuse or discrimination. Risk assessments and emergency plans were in place.
“Staff had received training and were aware of their responsibilities to safeguard people from abuse and any discrimination.” from the report
Medicines safety
The home had medicine audits, safe storage and administration procedures, and staff competency checks.
“There were safe procedures to ensure medicines were correctly ordered, stored and given appropriately.” from the report
Infection control
Inspectors were assured that the home had arrangements to prevent and manage infections, including visiting procedures, testing and personal protective equipment.
“We were assured that the provider was making sure infection outbreaks can be effectively prevented or managed.” from the report
Supportive care
Relatives and professionals spoke positively about the care and the support given by staff.
“Relatives and professionals spoke positively of the care provided by staff.” from the report
Incomplete care records
needs fixingRecords did not always show that people had received planned support with continence, hydration, moving or turning. Inspectors judged the impact to be very low at the time because staff knew people well.
“There were some areas where improvements were needed.” from the report
Medicine guidance
needs fixingSome guidance for medicines given when needed was not detailed enough, and staff did not always record whether the medicine had worked. The manager said protocols were updated after the inspection.
“Staff did not always record if the medicine given had been effective.” from the report
Monitoring and safety checks
needs fixingThere was no formal system to record the provider's visits, and monthly emergency-light checks had not been completed.
“The provider had no formal procedure for monitoring the running of the service.” from the report
- 01Have all records for continence, hydration, moving and turning people been completed consistently since the inspection?
- 02How do you record whether medicines given when needed have worked?
- 03What information do staff now have about when medicines given when needed should be used?
- 04Are monthly emergency-light checks now completed and recorded?
- 05How are the provider's visits and monitoring of the home now recorded?
This inspection rated Safe and Well-led; the report does not give ratings for Effective, Caring or Responsive. This explanation was written from the published report of 14 May 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.
Every inspection of Rivendale Lodge EMI Care Home
6 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- May 2023Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
Read what inspectors found at Rivendale Lodge EMI Care Home →
- May 2022Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
Read what inspectors found at Rivendale Lodge EMI Care Home →
- November 2018Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- October 2017Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- September 2016Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- August 2015Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- October 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 18 November 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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19 live-in carers within about an hour of East Sussex
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Most charge £1,000 to £1,400 a week. 13 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
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