Meadow Lodge

Updated 30 March 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

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

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Meadow Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Meadow Lodge is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small, and people are often out, and we wanted to be sure there would be people and staff at home to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 21 February and ended on 14 March 2023. We visited the service on 21 February and 14 March 2023.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We looked at documents that related to people's care and support and the management of the service. We reviewed a range of records which included three care and support plans and daily records, staff personnel files, policies and procedures and quality monitoring documents.

During the visit we met one person who was staying at the service during our inspection and another person’s relative. Other people using the service were not able to speak with us. We spoke with the registered manager and three care staff. After the site visit, we spoke with one other member of staff and three people’s relatives.

Updated 30 March 2023

About the service

Meadow Lodge is a residential respite service located in Chippenham, Wiltshire. It provides short term care breaks for adults with a learning disability and autism. The service can accommodate up to four people at a time. At the time of our inspection there were four people using the service.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right support

People had their care and support needs assessed before they started to use the service and reviewed at each respite stay. People's independence was promoted. People’s relatives told us how people’s social activities had increased, and staff had supported and encouraged them to go to places that interested them with their friends. Staff supported people to take part in activities and pursue their interests in their local area. There was a complaints procedure in place in formats that people could understand. Risks to people had been assessed to ensure their needs were met safely. People's medicines were managed safely. Staff followed government guidance in relation to infection prevention and control.

Right care

People received kind and compassionate care from staff who wanted to have a positive impact on people’s lives. Staff protected and respected people's privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. People had access to health care professionals when they needed them. People and their relatives told us they felt safe. Comments included, “It's a safe environment for [name] and it works really well” and, “I don’t have to worry about [name] coming here at all.” There were safeguarding procedures in place and staff had a clear understanding of these. Robust recruitment checks had taken place before staff started working at the service.

Right culture

People received good quality care, support and treatment because staff had been trained to carry out their roles and were supported by a team leader and manager. People, and those important to them, were involved in planning their support. The registered manager and staff worked in partnership with health and social care providers to deliver an effective service. Staff were knowledgeable about people's support needs as well as people's preferences for how they wanted to be supported. Comments from people and relatives included, “It’s a home from home” and, “[Name] loves it. [They] are always dressed and ready to leave on the days [they] go to stay at Meadow Lodge.” There was a complaints procedure in place and people knew how to complain if they needed to.

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 04 December 2017). At this inspection the service remained Good.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Meadow Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.