Green Lodge Respite Care Unit

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

At the last inspection in May 2016 the service was rated Good. At this inspection, we found the service remained Good.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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.

Pre-assessments were completed for people, care plans developed and reviewed for each person before they started using the service. The registered manager was communicating with relevant authorities to address this.

People were protected from harm. Each person had a risk assessment and staff knew how to ensure risks to people were managed. Staff were aware the actions they needed to take if they became aware of an incident of abuse.

The premises were clean and tidy. Staff had attended training on basic food hygiene and infection control, and knew how to reduce the risk of spread of infections.

The management and administration of medicines were thorough and accurate. People were confident that staff administered their medicines as prescribed by their doctors.

There were enough trained and experienced staff at the service. The recruitment of staff was robust and new staff were appropriately checked and inducted before they started work.

Staff had training and supervision opportunities to upgrade their knowledge and skills to meet people's needs. They told us they felt supported by the registered manager.

Staff had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and people's care plans showed mental capacity assessments had been completed and applications for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were made to local authorities.

Staff promoted people’s independence and treated them with respect and dignity. People were confident staff respected their privacy.

Various activities were available for people to enjoy both within and outside the service.

There were systems in place to ensure that various health and safety aspects of the service were regularly checked to make sure the facilities and equipment were safe.

People told us the food was good. People's nutritional and hydration needs were assessed and met. People could choose their meals.

Staff worked with healthcare professionals to ensure people had access to healthcare.

Complaints were recorded and investigated. people and relatives knew how to make a complaint.

The registered manager sought feedback to ensure people and relatives' views were considered in the improvement of the quality of the service.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

Relatives told us people were safe. Each person had a risk assessment and staff knew how to manage identified risks to people. Health and safety checks had been carried out to ensure the facilities and equipment were safe. People’s medicine was stored safely and administered by staff who received appropriate training.

Relatives told us that staff were kind and knew how to support people. Staff received supervision and had training opportunities in areas such as Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), medicine administration and moving and handling. New staff underwent recruitment processes, which involved completing an application form and providing satisfactory evidence, such as a police check, two reference letters and evidence to confirm they had the right to work in the UK.

Staff had the knowledge and ability to report safeguarding issues and the service had appropriate policies in place for staff to read and use. There were enough staff at the service. However, some of the staff were at the service temporarily and the registered manager did not always have sufficient information about them. We have made a recommendation about this.

People were supported to access activities of their choice. People were asked to make their choices of services and staff ensured they were supported with respect and dignity. We noted staff supported people to attend a place of worship. We noted that people enjoyed the food provided at the home. We recommended that the registered manager should consult people and their representatives regarding providing fresh and home prepared meals. We saw the service was spacious and relatives told us the premises were clean and tidy.

There were systems in place to ensure people received their prescribed medication appropriately. A relative told us 'they are very hot on medication.'

Staff received the training and support they needed to carry out their duties and to enable them to effectively support people who used the service. A member of staff told us 'training is up to date and we have the training we need to do things properly. I get good support from the manager.'

People were not always protected from the risks of unsafe or inappropriate care because accurate and appropriate records were not always maintained.

People received care according to their support plans which were monitored using a key worker system. People experienced care, treatment and support that met their needs and protected their rights.

People who use the service were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening. The service had a recruitment process in place and people were supported by staff who had the necessary skills and knowledge to meet their needs. The provider had put in place an effective system to monitor the service.