Spencers Lodge

Updated 2 October 2020

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Spencers Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The home had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave the provider a short period of notice of the inspection. This was due to the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure we had enough information prior to inspection to promote safety.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with six people who lived at the home and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff and the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and medication records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 2 October 2020

About the service

Spencers Lodge is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to eight people who experience needs related to learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection there were seven people living in the home.

The home had been developed and designed before the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support (RRS) had been published. This guidance aims to ensure that people who use services can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice and independence.

The service is larger than recommended by best practice guidance and is situated on a campus style setting with four other homes and the provider’s adult skills service. However, the service had applied the principles and values of RRS and had mitigated against environmental factors that would otherwise reduce the likelihood of being able to provide truly person-centred care.

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

People and their relatives told us Spencers Lodge was a safe place to live. People said they were happy living there and staff supported them in the ways they preferred.

Systems for managing and reporting incidents had been improved and enabled actions to be taken to reduce the likelihood of similar incidents occurring in the future. People were supported by staff who understood how to keep people safe from harm or abuse.

People were supported to take positive risks to maintain their independence and social relationships. They received their medicines in a safe way. Measures were in place to minimise the risks related to the spread of infections.

There was an open and inclusive culture which enabled people to be involved in how the home was run. Governance systems enabled a continuous learning and improvement approach for the benefit of the people who lived at Spencers Lodge.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for Spencers Lodge was requires improvement (published 22 October 2019) and there was one breach of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out this focused inspection to check the provider had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe and well-led. The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service remains requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

As part of this inspection we also looked at the measures in place to control and prevent the spread of infection in the home. This was part of our thematic review of infection prevention and control in care homes.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Spencers Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.