Spring Lodge

Updated 29 January 2019

The inspection

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.

Inspection team:

One inspector and an expert by experience conducted the inspection. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The expert at this inspection had experience of caring for someone with dementia.

Service and service type:

Spring Lodge is a care home which is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 20 people. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

This inspection was unannounced and took place on 12 December 2018.

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 assessed the 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection, we spoke with eight people using the service, six relatives and five staff. We also spoke with the registered manager, the operations manager and the director. We looked at records in relation to people who used the service including care plans and medication records. We looked at records relating to recruitment, training and systems for monitoring quality.

Updated 29 January 2019

People’s experience of using this service:

People and their relatives were positive about the care provided at Spring Lodge. The environment was homely, clean and safe.

There were enough competent and skilled staff to support people safely and according to their individual preferences. Staff knew people well and had developed meaningful relationships with them.

Medicines were managed safely and there was a culture of continuous improvement.

Staff were kind, caring and passionate about the service provided and there was a positive culture. Staff supported people with dignity and respect.

Staff supported people to have maximum choice and control of their lives and in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were involved in how the service was run and were supported to maintain their independence and to make their own choices about where they spent their time and how. People were able to participate in a range of activities which promoted a good quality of life.

People's health was well managed and there were positive links with professionals to ensure that individual health and nutritional needs were met.

The service was well managed and staff, people and relatives were positive about the registered manager. There were appropriate quality processes were in place to ensure high quality care.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 29 June 2016)

About the service: Spring Lodge is a care home for older people situated in a residential area of Clacton On Sea. The accommodation is located over two floors. There were 16 people living at the service on the day of inspection.

The service is a care home. 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.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor all intelligence received about the service to ensure the next planned inspection is scheduled accordingly.