CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Stainton Lodge Care Centre
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People told inspectors they felt safe. Medicines, risks, safeguarding, staffing, recruitment and infection control were managed safely, with significant improvements since the previous inspection.
- Effective?
- Good
- People's needs were assessed and staff had improved training and support. Inspectors found good work with health professionals, but said food choices and mealtime support for people with dementia needed improvement.
- Caring?
- Good
- Are people treated with kindness and dignity?
- Responsive?
- Good
- Is care built around the person? Care plans, activities, complaints.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Management oversight, audits and improvement planning had improved significantly. People, relatives and staff gave positive feedback about the new manager and the more open culture.
What inspectors found, May 2023
Stainton Lodge Care Centre is rated Good; inspectors found major improvements in safety, medicines and management, but food choices and mealtimes still need work.
This was an unannounced inspection on 20 and 21 April 2023. Inspectors spoke with people living in the home, relatives and staff. They reviewed care records, medicines records, staff recruitment files and management information.
The home was rated Good overall, with Safe, Effective and Well-led all rated Good. Inspectors found that medicines, risk management, staffing, infection control, staff training and quality checks had improved since the previous inspection.
There were still problems with the dining experience. People with dementia were not routinely offered picture menus or a choice of food at mealtimes, and feedback about the food was mixed. The home had identified these issues and was introducing a new menu.
This was a focused inspection. The Caring and Responsive questions were not inspected, so those ratings were carried over from the previous inspection. The overall rating improved from Requires Improvement after the home addressed the earlier legal breaches.
Safer medicines
Medicines were stored securely and records showed people received them safely and at the right time. Checks and audits had improved since the previous inspection.
“Medicines audits were carried out regularly and daily records checks were made to make sure errors were identified and action taken.” from the report
Risk and staffing arrangements
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs, with staffing levels reviewed when needs changed. Recruitment checks had also improved.
“There were enough staff on duty to meet people's needs. The staffing levels were under constant review.” from the report
Good understanding of people's needs
Care plans gave staff detailed guidance about risks, communication and personal support. Staff were observed to know people well and support their choices.
“Care plans reflected a good understanding of people's needs, including relevant assessments of people's communication support needs.” from the report
Improved management
The home had better quality checks, clearer improvement plans and more oversight of incidents. People, relatives and staff said the manager was approachable and supportive.
“There had been a significant improvement in the quality assurance systems.” from the report
Food choices and mealtimes
needs fixingPeople with dementia were not routinely offered picture menus or a choice at mealtimes. Some people were not offered an alternative when they showed little interest in the food provided.
“People with dementia were still not adequately supported to make food choices.” from the report
No registered manager at the visit
minorThere was no registered manager in post when inspectors visited. The manager had applied to register, and the process was still ongoing.
“At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post.” from the report
- 01How are people with dementia now helped to choose their meals, including through picture menus?
- 02What alternatives are offered if someone does not want the food served?
- 03What changes were made after the new menu was introduced, and how is the dining experience being checked?
- 04How many staff vacancies are there now, and how often are agency staff used?
- 05Has the manager's application to become registered been completed?
This was a focused inspection of Safe, Effective and Well-led; Caring and Responsive were not inspected and their ratings were carried over from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 26 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, August 2022
Rated Requires Improvement overall; inspectors rated safety Inadequate and found unsafe medicines, staffing and record-keeping.
Inspectors visited on four days between 29 June and 14 July 2022. They spoke with people, relatives and staff, and checked care records, medicines records, staff files and management systems. The inspection was unannounced.
Safety was rated Inadequate. Medicines were not always managed safely, risk assessments were missing, staffing levels affected record keeping, and infection control procedures were not always followed. Safeguarding investigations and reviews of accidents were also not always done properly.
Effective and well-led care were rated Requires Improvement. Staff knew people well in many cases, but training, supervision, capacity assessments and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards records were not up to date. The overall rating fell from Good at the previous inspection to Requires Improvement.
Staff knew people
Inspectors found that staff knew the people they cared for and supported them to make choices.
“From conversations with staff and interactions between staff and people we observed staff knew the people they cared for and how to support them to make choices.” from the report
Good induction
New staff received a structured induction that included the Care Certificate.
“New staff undertook an induction which included completion of the Care Certificate.” from the report
Environment
The home was clean, tidy, pleasantly decorated and well maintained.
“The home was pleasantly decorated, well maintained and suitable for the needs of people living there.” from the report
Health professional links
The home worked with health and social care professionals to support people's health needs.
“The service worked well with other professionals to ensure people's health needs were met effectively and in a timely manner.” from the report
Medicines safety
seriousMedicines records, stock checks, controlled drug checks and records for some medicines were not reliable. Inspectors could not be sure medicines were always given as prescribed.
“Medicines were not safely managed. The medicines policy was not fit for purpose and did not cover all aspects of medicines management.” from the report
Risk management
seriousSome people did not have complete, person-centred risk assessments. This meant staff did not always have the information needed to reduce known risks.
“People were exposed to risk as person-centred risk assessments were not always in place.” from the report
Staffing and training
seriousThere were not enough staff to complete all tasks, and several staff training courses and supervisions were overdue.
“There were not enough staff on duty to ensure all tasks were completed.” from the report
Learning from incidents
seriousAccidents and incidents were not fully recorded or reviewed, so the home could not show that lessons were being learned.
“Accidents and incidents were not being adequately reviewed and analysed.” from the report
Food choices for people with dementia
minorPeople with dementia were not always given the best support to choose their food. Picture cards were available but were not being used.
“People with Dementia were not adequately supported to make food choices.” from the report
- 01What has been done to make medicines management safe, including checks of controlled drugs, topical medicines, patches and thickening agents?
- 02How do you now make sure every person has a current, person-centred risk assessment?
- 03What are the current staffing levels on each floor, and how do you cover sickness and agency use?
- 04Are all staff now up to date with required training and regular supervision?
- 05How do you check that capacity assessments and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards authorisations are current and decision-specific?
This began as a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led following concerns about medicines and safeguarding, and was widened to include Effective; Caring and Responsive were not inspected and their previous ratings carried over. This explanation was written from the published report of 24 August 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 Stainton Lodge Care Centre
5 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- May 2023Goodcurrent ratingup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- August 2022Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: InadequateEffective: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- March 2019Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodWell-led: Good
- August 2016Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- October 2015Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- May 2014
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 12 May 2014.
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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