CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Walker Lodge
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People said they felt safe. Inspectors found trained staff, safe recruitment, detailed risk assessments, clean premises and well-managed medicines.
- Effective?
- Good
- Staff had training specific to acquired brain injury and received regular supervision and appraisals. Consent and best-interest decisions were recorded in line with the Mental Capacity Act.
- Caring?
- Good
- Inspectors observed warm and respectful interactions. People were involved in their support, their dignity was protected and information was provided in formats they could understand.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Support plans focused on individual rehabilitation goals, relationships and independence. Complaints had been responded to in line with the home's process.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The home had a friendly and person-focused culture. Audits and action plans were used to identify and follow up improvements, and the home worked with the local community.
What inspectors found, January 2018
Walker Lodge: Rated Good; inspectors found safe, caring and well-organised support for people with acquired brain injuries.
The CQC carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection on 19 December 2017. The inspector reviewed records, spoke with people living at the home, relatives, staff and healthcare professionals, and checked care plans, recruitment files and other documents.
The home was supporting eight people with acquired brain injuries. Inspectors found suitable staffing, detailed risk assessments, safe medicines management and staff trained to support people's specific needs. People were treated with kindness and respect, and were supported with rehabilitation, daily living skills and community links.
All five areas were rated Good: safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. The home had also been rated Good at the previous inspection, so the overall rating remained unchanged.
Specialist risk support
Risk assessments were tailored to people's needs, including the specific risks linked to brain injuries and moving and handling.
“Risk assessments were detailed and specific, and contained a good descriptive account for staff to follow to enable them to minimise the risk of harm occurring to people who lived at the home” from the report
Trained staff
Staff completed general care training and extra training for acquired brain injury and other health needs.
“Additional training was completed by staff which focussed on how to specifically support someone with an acquired brain injury” from the report
Personal rehabilitation goals
People were supported to work towards individual goals, including cooking, walking and moving into the community.
“This was specifically linked to their rehabilitation plan.” from the report
Respectful care
People's choices, dignity and communication needs were respected. Staff were observed responding appropriately when someone became agitated.
“Language used in support plans was respectful, and we saw they were written with the dignity and respect of the person at the forefront of the support plan.” from the report
Good oversight
The home used audits and action plans to track improvements, with clear timescales and assigned responsibility.
“Quality assurance procedures were clear.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How would you adapt the rehabilitation plan to my relative's current goals and abilities?
- 02What extra training have staff completed for my relative's acquired brain injury and any other health needs?
- 03How will you support my relative to develop cooking, daily living or other independence skills?
- 04How will you involve my relative and our family in care plan reviews and best-interest decisions?
- 05What progress has been made on the action plans identified through the home's audits?
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering all five CQC questions, and the ratings remained Good from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 30 January 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 Walker Lodge
2 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- January 2018Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- April 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2014
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 30 June 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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