Cottage Farm Lodge

Updated 9 January 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

We inspected the service because it was previously rated 'Good' and it was time for us to return to check whether the rating continued to be 'Good'.

This comprehensive inspection was carried out by one inspector and took place on 5 and 6 December 2018. The inspection was announced. We told the provider we would be coming so they could arrange for us to visit people who lived at Cottage Farm.

We visited people who used the service on the 5 December 2018 and visited the office on the 6 December 2018 to speak with the manager and staff; and to review care records, policies and procedures.

Prior to the office visit we reviewed the information we held about the service. We looked at the statutory notifications the service had sent us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. We reviewed the ‘Share your experience’ information people who used the service had sent us since the last inspection.

We contacted the local authority commissioners to find out their views of the service provided. Commissioners are people who contract care and support services paid for by the local authority. They had no new information to share with us.

We reviewed information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR) during the inspection visit. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We found the PIR was an accurate reflection of the service.

During our visit on 5 December 2018 we spoke with seven people who received personal care, and one relative. During our office visit on 6 December 2018 we spoke with the registered manager, the assistant manager, one senior care staff and four care staff. We also spoke with a visiting GP.

We reviewed three people’s care records to see how their care and support was planned and delivered. We looked at other records related to people’s care and how the service operated including, medication records, two staff recruitment files, staff training records, records of complaints and the provider’s quality assurance audits.

Updated 9 January 2019

Cottage Farm Lodge is an ‘extra care’ housing scheme. People live in their own homes where care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate the premises used for extra care housing. We only inspect the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to washing, dressing and eating.

Cottage Farm provides personal care and support to people within a complex of 30 one-bedroom flats. Five of which are short stay, to assist people to come out of hospital for a period of assessment before they return home or to alternative accommodation. The flats are arranged over two floors with a lift and stairs to each floor. Staff provide care at pre-arranged times and people have access to call bells for staff to respond whenever additional help is required. People also have access to a communal lounge and a dining room.

Not everyone living at Cottage Farm Lodge received personal care. At the time of our visit 22 people were in receipt of personal care from the provider. People received varying levels of personal care and support depending on their needs. Some people required minimal assistance with personal care. Others required assistance with showering/bathing, mobility continence care, administration of medication, and nutritional support.

At our last comprehensive inspection of this service in February 2016, we rated the service as 'Good'. At this inspection, we found the service continued to be safe, effective, caring. responsive and well-led. The rating remains Good.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated regulations about how the service is run.

People felt safe living at Cottage Farm Lodge and staff understood how to keep people safe from avoidable harm and abuse. Risks associated with people’s care were identified and plans were in place to inform staff how to manage risks. Where people required support to take prescribed medicines, staff had received training to assist people safely.

There were enough trained, experienced staff available to meet people's assessed needs and to allocate all the visits people required. Recruitment checks were completed on new staff to ensure they were suitable to support people who used the service.

People were visited by a team of staff that they knew and who stayed long enough to do everything people needed without having to rush. People said staff were kind and considerate, and respected their privacy.

People's right to make their own decisions about their care were supported by managers and staff who understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act. The managers and staff had provided very effective support to people who made unwise decisions due to alcohol dependency.

People were provided with care and support which was individual to them. People could live their lives in the way they chose and were supported to live as independently as possible. When needed, arrangements were in place to support people’s nutrition and healthcare needs.

The managers and staff had a good understanding of people’s individual needs and preferences. People’s care and support needs were kept under review and staff responded when there were changes in these needs. People were encouraged to raise concerns and were confident these would be responded to.

There was an experienced management team that worked well together. Managers and staff shared the same values and were committed to providing a quality service to people. Staff received good support from the management team who they said were always available to give advice. There were effective and responsive processes for assessing and monitoring the quality of the service.