We carried out a review of the data available to us about Kirkstall Lodge on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Kirkstall Lodge, you can give feedback on this service.
Kirkstall Lodge is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to five people with a learning disability. At the time of our visit five people were living in the home.
The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.
People’s experience of using this service:
People received safe care and support as the staff team had been trained to recognise signs of abuse or risk and understood what to do to safely support people. A positive approach to risk taking was followed to ensure people’s independence was maintained. Staff were aware of their responsibilities in safeguarding people from abuse and had developed open and trusting relationships with people.
People received safe support with their medicines by staff who had received training and who had been assessed as competent. There were systems in place to respond to any medicine errors and regular checks were carried out to ensure that people were receiving the right medicine at the right time.
The provider supported staff in providing effective care for people through person-centred care planning, training and supervision. People were promptly referred to additional healthcare services when required.
Staff members followed effective infection prevention and control procedures. When risks to people’s health and welfare were identified, the provider acted to minimise the likelihood of occurrence.
The provider followed safe recruitment practices when employing new staff members. People were supported by staff who received training, supervision and support to help them undertake their role. Staff understood people's needs and provided them with the care and support they needed. People were supported to maintain a healthy diet and had choice regarding the food and drinks they consumed.
People accessed health and social care professionals when required. Staff understood and supported people in line with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People gave consent to care and treatment. Those who were unable to make decisions about their own care received appropriate support to do so. 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.
People received help and support from a kind and compassionate staff team with whom they had developed positive relationships. People were supported by staff members who were aware of their individual protected characteristics like age and gender and disability. People had choice and control over their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. Policies and systems supported this practice.
People received a personalised service and were involved in developing their care plans. Staff knew people’s life histories, preferences and routines. Activities were based around people’s choices and people were supported to take part in the running of their home. There was a positive culture where people, staff and relatives felt listened to. The registered manager felt supported by the provider and this flowed through the service.
People were provided with information in a way they could understand. The provider had systems in place to encourage and respond to any complaints or compliments from people or those close to them. There was regular involvement by families and relatives and external services such as community nursing and social work services were consulted with regard to the support and care of people.
The provider understood the requirements of their registration with the Care Quality Commission and was meeting the legal requirements. The provider had effective systems to monitor the quality of the service they provided and to drive improvements where needed. The provider had good links with the local community which people benefited from.
The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.
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 9 March 2017.)
Why we inspected:
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
At our previous inspection of 18 November 2015, we found the service was in breach of one regulation of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) 2010. This was in relation to staff who had not always received appropriate support to enable them to carry out their duties effectively. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for ‘Kirkstall Lodge’ on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
We undertook a comprehensive inspection on 31 January 2017 to follow up on the breach and to check that the service now met the legal requirements. At this inspection, we found the service had taken sufficient action and addressed the breach.
There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.
People received safe care and support at the service. Appropriate procedures were in place to protect people from harm and abuse and staff knew how to follow them. Risk assessments were carried out on people’s health and contained guidance for staff on how to support them safely. Recruitment processes were robust to ensure people received support from staff suitable for their role. There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people's needs.
People received the support they required with their medicines. Staff followed the provider’s procedures to ensure medicines were administered and managed correctly.
People were supported by staff who received training, supervision and support to help them undertake their role. Staff understood people's needs and provided them with the care and support they needed.
People received sufficient food and drink and the support they required with their eating. People accessed health and social care professionals when required.
Staff understood and supported people in line with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People gave consent to care and treatment. Those who were unable to make decisions about their own care received appropriate support to do so.
People were happy with the care they received. They had good relationships with staff and were treated with dignity and respect. Staff interactions with people were positive and caring.
People and their relatives knew how to make a complaint if they were unhappy about their care and had access to the complaints procedure. The registered manager regularly sought people’s views about the service and acted on their feedback.
The registered manager was approachable. There was an open and transparent culture at the service. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities. The provider and registered manager checked and monitored the quality of care and support and made improvements when necessary.
This unannounced inspection took place on 18 November 2015. Kirkstall Lodge is a care home for six people with a learning disability. Five people were using the service at the time of the inspection.
There was no registered manager in post at the time of this inspection. The provider notified us the registered manager had left the service in March 2015. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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 previous inspection of the service took place on 20 August 2014. It met all the regulations we checked at that time.
At this inspection we found that the provider had breached a regulation of the Health and Social Care 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, Regulation 18 (2) (a). You can see what action we have told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.
People were happy with the care they received in the service. Staff treated people with dignity and respect. People consented to the care they received. Staff promoted people to be independent and supported them to pursue their interests.
People had received their medicines safely as prescribed. Risks to people were assessed and support plans put in place to protect people from harm. Staff put plans in place on how to support people receive their care. Staff delivered support as planned and met people’s individual needs.
Staff and healthcare professionals involved people in reviewing the support they needed with their care. People were supported in line with the legal requirements of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005.
People’s health and care needs were met. People received sufficient food and drinks of their choice.
People, their relatives and staff found the manager approachable and open to ideas and feedback. Complaints were looked at and addressed in line with the service’s procedures. Checks were carried out on the quality of the service and improvements made when necessary. Staff felt supported in their role to provide care to people.
We found that people had regular opportunities to meet with staff and make decisions about their individual support arrangements and how Kirkstall Lodge was run.
Staff tried to ensure that documents were accessible for people with a learning disability by using symbols, pictures and photographs. We saw that staff understood the way that each individual communicated, and understood their support needs. We saw staff providing people with the assistance and support that each individual needed; encouraging people to be as independent as they were able. There were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs.
Peoples healthcare needs were monitored well.
People told us they enjoyed the meals that were provided. Staff knew people's dietary likes and dislikes and their cultural, religious and dietary needs.
We also found that the provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.
We spoke with three health and social care professionals who visited Kirkstall Lodge regularly. We were told that the service provided good care and that people always looked happy when they visited.
Staff supported people to attend their healthcare appointments and to maintain their physical health.
We found that people's social care needs were not always taken into account, and there had been times when there had been insufficient staff available to support people in doing their planned activities. This had been addressed by the registered provider who had recruited more support staff and made changes to the staff rota so that more staff were available at peak activity times.
We met the majority of people who live at the home. They appeared happy and relaxed. Some of them told us about things they liked doing and they said that they liked the staff. We saw that the staff treated people with respect and offered them choices.
The staff told us that they were well supported and happy working at the home.
We found that the service was run in an organised way. There were systems to check the quality and safety of the service. We saw records of clear staff communication and information for staff. There was information about individual needs and how the staff were trained to meet these needs. The manager is employed to oversee another home as well as Kirkstall Lodge. They told us that senior staff supported them to make sure the home was appropriately managed at all times.