Forest Lodge Rest Home

Ratings

• Overall

  Requires improvement

• Safe

  Requires improvement

• Effective

  Requires improvement

• Caring

  Requires improvement

• Responsive

  Requires improvement

• Well-led

  Requires improvement

Our view of the service

Date of Assessment: 22 October to 31 October 2024. The service is a residential care home providing support to adults of all ages living with dementia and mental health conditions. We found 3 breaches in regulation in relation to safe care and treatment, staffing and governance. The service did not always use risks to learn and improve and plans were not always in place to support people to manage risks effectively. Facilities and equipment were not always clean and well-maintained, ensuring risks to people were mitigated. Staff did not always receive appropriate training to carry out their role effectively and safely. Appropriate referrals had not always been made to ensure people had the best outcomes and support healthy living. Medicines were not always stored, administered and managed safely. People were not always involved in the planning of their care. The provider continued to not have effective governance systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service. However, people were protected and kept safe. The service made sure there was continuity of care, including when people moved between different services, and they worked well across teams and services to support people. People were told about their rights around consent, and this was respected. People were treated with kindness, empathy and compassion and staff respected people’s privacy and dignity. The service cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and staff told us they enjoyed their roles. Leaders were visible within the service and lead by example to their staff team. In instances where CQC have decided to take civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this information on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded.

People's experience of this service

During the assessment, we received mixed feedback from people who used the service and their relatives. Some relatives told us they felt more meaningful time could be spent with their relative as they chose not to spend time out of their bedroom. One relative told us their family member would benefit from staff engaging in activities outside of daily living tasks, such as doing puzzles or colouring. Another relative told us their family member was not being supported effectively with risk management. They did not feel they were listened to by leaders and concerns were not always acted upon. People told us they were not involved in the planning and reviewing of their care. Some people could not directly tell us about their experience. We used observation to assess whether they received good care. On our first visit to the service, we found people did not always have meaningful interaction from staff. Interactions which did take place were mostly task orientated. However, on our second visit to the service, we observed more positive staff interaction with people. All people we spoke with told us they felt safe, and they received good quality care from staff who treated them well. A person told us, “Staff always listen to me, and they help me a lot. I’ve not got a bad word to say about them”. People felt staff were responsive to their care needs and when they needed assistance, this was usually acted upon promptly. People told us they had flexibility within the home, such as when they went to bed and when they woke up.