Warren Lodge Care Centre

Updated 2 July 2021

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Warren Lodge Care Centre is a ‘care home’ without nursing. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service, including notifications received from the provider. The law requires providers to send us notifications about certain events that happen during the running of a service. We sought feedback from the local authority, community professionals who work with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We reviewed the provider’s website and used the information the provider had sent us in the provider information return. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke with seven people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 13 members of staff including the registered manager, the deputy manager, four senior healthcare assistants, four healthcare assistants, the chef, the housekeeping manager, the lifestyle enrichment manager and administration manager. We also spoke with the nominated individual, who is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We spoke with two visiting healthcare professionals.

We observed care during mealtimes, social activities and medicines administration rounds to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records, medicine records and daily notes. We looked at six staff files in relation to recruitment, staff training and supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed, including the provider’s policies, procedures, accidents and incidents and quality assurance audits.

After the inspection

After the inspection we continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with ten health and social care professionals, a religious minister and six relatives of people who lived in the home.

Updated 2 July 2021

About the service

Warren Lodge Care Centre is a residential care home registered to provide personal and nursing care for up to 55 people. At the time of inspection there were 39 people living in the home. The service supported people requiring care for reasons of age and frailty, some of whom were living with the experience of dementia. The service was divided into two units known as the Main House and the Courtyard. The Courtyard was designed and adapted specifically to meet the needs of people living with dementia.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People experienced safe care and were protected from avoidable harm by staff who had completed safeguarding training and knew how to recognise and report abuse.

Staff identified and assessed risks to people effectively and managed them safely. Assessment and monitoring records demonstrated that people received the support required to keep them safe, in accordance with their risk assessments and support plans. Staff assessed all aspects of people’s physical, emotional and social needs and ensured these were met to achieve good outcomes for them.

The registered manager ensured enough staff were deployed, with the right mix of skills to deliver care and support to meet people’s needs.

Staff were effectively supported to develop and maintain the required skills and knowledge to support people according to their needs. Staff had completed a robust recruitment process, including their conduct in previous care roles to assure their suitability to support older people.

People received their medicines safely from staff in accordance with their medicine management plans and recognised best practice. Staff maintained high standards of cleanliness and hygiene in the home, which reduced the risk of infection, in accordance with provider's policies and procedures, and government guidance. Accidents and incidents were recorded and reviewed daily by the management team, who took prompt action to implement any lessons learned.

The management team led by example and promoted a strong caring, person-centred culture where people and staff felt valued. Staff were passionate about their role and placed people at the heart of the service, clearly demonstrating the caring values of the provider.

The registered manager understood their responsibilities to inform people when things went wrong and the importance of conducting thorough investigations to identify lessons learnt to prevent further occurrences.

The registered manager and staff worked effectively in partnership with external health and social care professionals to achieve good outcomes for people with complex needs.

The registered manager ensured there were robust measures to monitor quality, safety and the experience of people within the service. Quality assurance was embedded within the staff culture to drive continuous improvement.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (report published 1 October 2019).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.