Meadow Lodge

Updated 28 January 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 11 January 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 28 January 2022

About the service

Meadow Lodge is a residential care home providing personal care to 16 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 25 people.

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

People felt safe living at Meadow Lodge and felt safe with the staff who supported them. Risks associated with people’s care and support had been assessed and these were being monitored regularly. People’s medicines were stored and managed safely. Suitable numbers of appropriately recruited staff were available to support the people using the service and the providers infection control policy was being followed. The registered manager ensured lessons were learned when things went wrong to continually improve the service.

Whenever possible, people’s needs had been assessed prior to them moving into the service. From this assessment, plans of care had been developed. These provided staff with the information they needed to meet people’s individual care and support needs. The staff team had received appropriate training, guidance and support and they ensured they gained people’s consent to their care. People’s nutritional needs were being met and they were supported to access healthcare services when needed. Improvements had been made to the environment and people were provided with a comfortable place to live.

The staff team were kind, caring and compassionate and treated people in a dignified and respectful way. 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. People were involved in making decisions about their care.

A formal complaints process was displayed explaining what people should do, should they have a concern of any kind. People’s end of life wishes were being explored and included in people’s plans of care. People's likes and dislikes were observed, and activities of choice were offered.

People, their relatives and staff were involved in how the service was run through meetings, the use of surveys and day to day conversations with the registered manager and the staff team. The staff team felt supported by the registered manager and the registered manager worked in partnership with others to make sure people received safe care and support. Systems were in place to regularly monitor the service being provided.

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 good (published 6 July 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.