Ambika Lodge Care Home

Updated 15 April 2021

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors

Service and service type

Ambika Lodge Care Home 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 service 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

This inspection was unannounced.

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. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We spoke with five people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with two relatives.

Updated 15 April 2021

Ambika Lodge Care Home is a nursing home that provides accommodation and personal care and support to a maximum of 21 people. The service provides care and support for older people some living with dementia. At the time of our inspection 18 people were living at the service.

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

Staff knew who to report to if they felt a person was at risk of potential abuse and were confident that any reported incidents would be addressed by the registered manager.

Staff and people felt there were enough staff working in the service and people said staff were available to support them when they needed assistance.

Medication was administered by staff who had received training to do so and medicines were managed safely. Risk assessments were in place, which identified possible risks and how to manage them.

The service had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. Actions were taken and improvements were made when required. People and their relatives felt able to speak to the registered manager or any of the staff team at any time if they needed help and assistance.

The last rating for this service was good (published 14 September 2018).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to safeguarding and infection control processes. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Ambika Lodge Care Home 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.