Wallace 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 was planned to check 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 carried out a comprehensive inspection of Wallace Lodge on 13, 19 and 22 November 2018. The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector and one adult social care assistant inspector.

The first day of inspection was unannounced and we carried out telephone calls to relatives and staff on the following two days of inspection.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. 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 play to make. We also reviewed the information that we held about the service. This included any statutory notifications received. Statutory notifications are specific pieces of information about events that happen within the service, which the provider is required to send to us by law.

Prior to our inspection we sought feedback from the local authority contracts monitoring and safeguarding adults teams, and reviewed the information they provided. We also contacted Healthwatch, who are the independent consumer champion for people who use health and social care services to obtain their feedback. We used the feedback gathered from these parties to inform our inspection and judgements.

During the inspection, we spoke with one person living at the service, one relative, two people’s advocates and three members of staff including the registered manager. We reviewed the care records for one person and the recruitment records for two members of staff. We reviewed documentation, inspected the safety of the premises, carried out observations in the communal areas and had discussions with people who used the service, their relatives, and staff.

Updated 9 January 2019

Wallace lodge is a purpose built residential care home located within South Shields, Tyne and Wear, and provides personal care and support for a maximum of 3 people with learning and physical disabilities. The service has three large bedrooms, a communal lounge, dining area, bathroom, laundry area and a kitchen which have all been designed to support and encourage the independence of the people living there. At the time of the inspection there were three people living at the service.

At the last inspection the service was rated good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

There was a registered manager in post who had been registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) since September 2017. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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.

The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities and had a clear strategy and vision for the service in partnership with the provider's organisational vision. This was to enhance the lives of people regardless of their disability and to enable people to have a fulfilling and purposeful life. The care service had been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service were supported to live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

There were regular checks of the premises, equipment and utilities which were documented to ensure the safety for people living at the service, visitors and staff. People's care plans reflected their individual needs and personal risks were assessed. We found there were policies and procedures in place to help keep people safe. Staff were safely recruited and they were provided with all the necessary induction and training required for their role. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staffing levels matched the dependency needs for people living at the service.

There were infection control policies in place and staff adhered to these. Medicines were safely managed and there were medication policies and procedures in place. There was a business continuity plan in place for use in emergency situations.

There was a robust governance framework in place to continually monitor and improve the service. We saw evidence of involvement from the provider's senior management team and documented audits carried out during their visits to the service. The registered manager submitted notifications to the Commission appropriately.

During the inspection we observed people carrying out activities with staff and attending sessions in the local community. We saw records of activities undertaken by people and they were supported to carry out their own choices for activities. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

There was training provided for staff in delivering end of life care. Staff treated people with dignity and respect. We saw kind, warm and caring attitudes between people in receipt of care from the service and staff. We observed people enjoying positive relationships with staff and it was apparent they knew each other well. Staff understood each person, how to support them and knew what they liked and disliked. We observed people liked staff and had friendly relationships with them.

The service had a comprehensive complaints and compliments policy in place. Any complaints received were logged, responded to within the stated time frames and analysed. Action plans were created and lessons learned were documented. The service promoted advocacy and there was accessible information available detailing what support people could access to help make choices about their individual lives. There was information available about safeguarding, complaints and advocacy displayed in communal areas and available in easy read formats for people.

Further information is in the detailed finding below.