Background to this inspection
Updated
17 September 2019
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
Squirrel Lodge is a care home for older people, some of whom were living with dementia. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
The service had two managers in place who were registered with the Care Quality Commission. They and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided in line with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with three people who used the service and two relative’s to ask about their experience of the care provided.
We spoke with the registered manager and three care staff. We looked at four records in relation to people who used the service. We also looked at staff files and records relating to the management of the service, recruitment, policies, training and systems for monitoring quality.
Updated
17 September 2019
About the service:
Squirrel Lodge provides accommodation and personal care for up to 24 older people, some of whom were living with dementia. At the time of our visit 22 people were using the service.
What life is like for people using this service:
People who live at Squirrel Lodge have their needs met by sufficient numbers of suitably trained staff. People told us staff were kind, caring and knew them as individuals.
Medicines were managed and administered safely.
Care records were individualised and accurately reflected people’s needs in sufficient detail. Risks to people were identified, monitored and managed.
People received the support they required at the end of their life. People’s preferences and advanced wishes were recorded in their care plans.
People and their representatives were involved in the planning of their care and given opportunities to feedback on the service they received. People’s views were acted upon.
People had appropriate access to meaningful activity and engagement. People told us they were happy with the activities on offer and were able to make suggestions for future activities.
People were offered a choice of meals which met their nutritional requirements. The risk of people becoming malnourished was identified, monitored and managed. People received appropriate support from staff to eat and drink.
The quality assurance system in place to monitor the service provided to people was robust and capable of identifying areas for improvement. Positive comments about the management team were made by people who used the service, relatives and staff.
The service worked well with other organisations to ensure people had joined up care. People were supported to have input from external healthcare professionals in a timely way.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection (and update):
At the last inspection the service was rated Good. (Report published 16 March 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.