Field Lodge

Updated 23 March 2023

Inspection team

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.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors and an Expert by Experience who spoke with relatives by telephone. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Field Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and we looked at both during this inspection.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

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

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Prior to the inspection we reviewed information and evidence we already held about the service, this included notifications sent to us by the service. Notifications are changes, events or incidents that the provider is legally obliged to send to us without delay.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. 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 of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 8 people and 12 relatives about the service and care provided. We also spoke with 10 members of staff, which included the registered manager, deputy manager, 2 nurses, care and auxiliary staff. We also observed the interaction between staff and the people who used the service to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people's care records. We observed medicine administration and reviewed a sample associated records. We looked at 2 staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, staff training, policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 23 March 2023

About the service

Field Lodge is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 72 people. The service provides support to people who require nursing care, older people and some may also be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 63 people using the service.

The care home accommodates people in four units over three floors. There is a lounge/diner and assisted bathrooms and toilets on each floor. On the ground floor there is access to a large garden a tuck shop, cinema, hair salon and nail bar, as well as a coffee shop.

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

People felt safe living at Field Lodge and received care in line with their needs and wishes. Staff had received training in safeguarding and knew how to identify and report concerns. Any safeguarding issues had been reported in line with guidance.

Accidents, incidents and falls were documented and reviewed to identify any patterns and trends, with lessons learned considered to help reduce future risks. A relative said, “Staff are aware of [family members increasing inability to judge any risks for themselves. From what I can see, they are aware of any potential risks.”

There were enough well-trained staff available to meet peoples care and support needs.

Medicines were managed safely by trained staff. People had received their medicines on time and as prescribed.

The building was clean, with effective cleaning and infection control processes in place. People, relatives and staff told us the service was well run and there was a positive environment.

People's views were sought through regular meetings and via questionnaires. Relatives were complimentary about the service, Comments included; “Extremely well cared for. It is the caring nature of such young carers, who are extremely dedicated and who are very fond of my [family member]. That much is obvious.” “I do feel that [family member] is well cared for. I really rate all the carers, there is not one that I have not warmed to.”

Feedback about actions taken was shared with people and displayed on a noticeboard within the home. Information was communicated to staff through meetings and handovers.

The service used a range of systems and processes to monitor the quality and effectiveness of the service provided. Actions plans were used to document any areas for improvement. We found any actions had been addressed timely.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (Published 2 June 2020). For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good based on the findings of this inspection.

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.

Follow up

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