The Care Quality Commission
  • Care Home
  • Care home

The Lodge Care Home

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Lodge Lane, Collier Row, Romford, Essex, RM5 2ES (01708) 780011

Provided and run by:
Lodge Lane Care Home Limited

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

The Lodge Care Home is located in Romford, Essex and supports older people, some of whom have dementia care needs. It is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 94 people. The home has 2 floors with adapted facilities and en-suite rooms across 5 units. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was Requires Improvement, published on 24 August 2022. This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made.

During a routine inspection

The Lodge Care Home is located in Romford, Essex and supports older people, some of whom have dementia care needs. It is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 94 people. At the time of the inspection, 91 people were living in the home. The home has two floors with adapted facilities and en-suite rooms across five units.

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

The home was not safe because people’s medicines were not managed, stored and administered in a safe way. Staff were administering specialised medicines to treat diabetes but they did not have the appropriate training to do this. Staff competency in this area was not assessed which could put people at risk. We found multiple issues with medicine records and storage facilities which had not been identified through audits.

People were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not always support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice.

People were not always receiving care in a person-centred way. Care plans and risks to people’s health were not being regularly assessed and reviewed. Some people were not being supported effectively to maintain their nutrition and hygiene.

People had limited opportunities to take part in activities because there was a lack of activity staff. We have made a recommendation in this area. Staffing levels in the service were not sufficient to ensure people received the care they needed. Accidents and incidents in the home were not always used to learn lessons.

Quality assurance systems in the home were not robust and there was a lack of oversight to ensure people were safe and being supported with good quality care. The provider was not meeting regulatory requirements to notify us of incidents in the home.

People and relatives told us the staff were friendly and caring. There were procedures for the prevention and control of infections but we have made a recommendation to include COVID-19 outbreaks within the provider's future contingency planning.

Staff were recruited appropriately and they received an induction and training. Staff worked with health professionals and other agencies to help maintain people’s health and wellbeing. There was a complaints process and complaints were investigated. People’s communication and equality needs were understood. The provider engaged with people and relatives and obtained their feedback to drive improvements. However, more work was required to resolve the issues we found and identify them in the first instance.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 8 October 2021 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was Good, published on 26 September 2017.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

Enforcement and recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, staffing, person-centred care, meeting nutritional and hydration needs and good governance at this inspection. We also made some additional recommendations.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.