Cwello Lodge

Updated 22 April 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

Three inspectors carried out this inspection.

Service and service type

Cwello Lodge is a ‘care home’. 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 did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that the provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection to check the COVID-19 status of the home, and to check we would be able to comply with social distancing and other pandemic requirements during the visit.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. This included notifications of events providers are required to tell us about, and information from members of the public about their experience of the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. 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

We spoke with five people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the manager and three members of staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the manager to validate evidence found. We looked at records sent to us by the manager. These included meeting minutes, surveys, and staff training records. We spoke with three staff and five relatives of people who use the service. We also received feedback from the local authority commissioners.

Updated 22 April 2021

About the service

Cwello Lodge is a residential care home providing accommodation for persons who require personal care. The service can accommodate up to eight people with learning disabilities and/or mental health needs. At the time of inspection there were eight people living in Cwello Lodge. The accommodation is spread over two floors. There were bedrooms on both levels of the home and all bedrooms had a private toilet.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided.

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

People were happy living at Cwello Lodge. They told us they felt safe, got on well with the staff, were given choice as to how they lived their lives, and were able to speak up if needed.

We found the provider ensured people were supported safely. There were sufficient numbers of suitable, motivated staff. Processes and procedures were in place to store and administer medicines safely. We were assured appropriate infection prevention and control measures were in place to protect people against the risk of COVID-19 and other infections.

The service was well led. The staff team told us they felt supported by the provider and manager. People who used the service and staff could contribute their views on how the service was managed. The manager had processes in place to monitor and improve the quality of service people received.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

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 10 May 2018).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on concerns that the service had no registered manager. Managers are expected to register with CQC.

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.

As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service remained good.

Please see the safe and well-led sections of the full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Cwello Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.