15 December 2021
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Penerley Lodge Care Centre is a care home which provides accommodation and support to up to 28 people aged 65 and over, including people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection 25 people were living at the home.
People’s experience of using this service
The provider had made some improvements to their recruitment processes, however, we found further improvements were needed as full pre-employment checks had not always been completed. Risks to people’s health and wellbeing were identified and effective measures put in place to mitigate these. People’s medicines were stored and managed safely. There were safe infection control procedures to reduce the risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The provider had made several improvements to the building since our last inspection. There were a range of audits and checks carried out to maintain quality and safety. Despite improvements some elements of service delivery such as activities and food choices were not always person-centred. We have made a recommendation about person-centred activities and meal choices. The provider worked with a range of healthcare professionals. However, the service had experienced issues getting regular appointments with the NHS podiatry service. We have made a recommendation about podiatry care.
We received mainly positive feedback about the home from everyone we spoke with. A relative told us, “Honestly the home is fantastic. We’ve never had any occasions to complain. From our experience the staff including managers are kind and caring.”
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 under the previous provider was requires improvement (published 19 March 2020).
Why we inspected
We carried out this inspection following a routine review of information we held about this service which indicated there may be a higher level of risk at this service.
Enforcement
We have identified a continued breach in relation to safe recruitment practices. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.