Archived: Loxley Lodge Care Home

Updated 1 July 2017

We carried out an unannounced focused inspection of this service on 24 March 2017. This inspection was carried out after we received concerns in relation to recruitment and deployment of staff and the safety of people using the service. The team inspected the service against one of the five questions we ask about services: is the service safe?

The inspection was carried out by one Inspector and an Inspection Manager and two Police Officers from Nottinghamshire Constabulary. Prior to the inspection, we reviewed information we held about the provider including reports from commissioners (who fund the care for some people) and notifications we had received. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

We spoke with three people using the service, the registered manager, administrator, a nurse and three care workers. We reviewed staff recruitment files, staff rotas, maintenance records, Medicines Administration Record (MAR) charts, accident logs and the care plans for three people.

Updated 1 July 2017

We inspected Loxley Lodge Care Home on 24 March 2017. The inspection was unannounced.

Loxley Lodge Care Home is situated in the town of Kirby in Ashfield in Nottinghamshire. The service is based in a purpose built two storey building with level access and provides care and support for up to 42 older people who require nursing or personal care. At the time of our inspection 30 people lived at the service.

There was a registered manager in place at the time of our inspection. 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 told us they felt safe at Loxley Lodge Care Home and told us they did not have any concerns about the care they received.

Staff knew how to protect people from harm. Referrals were made to the appropriate authority when concerns were raised and CQC received notifications of these referrals.

Risks to people’s safety were identified and managed. Assessments to minimise the risk of harm were reflective of people’s needs and the risk they faced and were regularly reviewed.

Regular building safety checks were carried out. We saw evidence that regular water safety checks were carried out to reduce the risk and spread of Legionnaires disease.

People expressed mixed views about whether they received care and support in a timely way. We found that sufficient numbers of suitably qualified and experienced staff were deployed in the service. However we noted the provider did not use a dependency tool to assess required staff numbers required and staff rotas were confused and lacked detail. A dependency tool is a system or formula used by a provider to assess how many staff need to be deployed to safely and effectively meet the needs of people using the service.

Systems to ensure safe recruitment of staff were used by the provider. However, this information was not always shared with the Registered Manager at the service.

People could not be assured they would receive their medicines in a safe or timely way. Medicines were not recorded accurately and a system to monitor the amount of medicines stored at the service was not in place.