Strathmore Lodge

Updated 11 February 2021

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 29 January 2021 and was unannounced.

Updated 11 February 2021

This inspection took place on 28 June, 3 July and 20 July 2018 and was unannounced.

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

At our last inspection in June 2018 we rated the service as requires improvement. This was because people did not always receive their medicines in a timely way and staff were over stretched which meant people sometimes had to wait to be supported. Records were not kept up to date and information was not always current. There was a lack of management oversight and these issues had not been identified as areas that needed to be improved.

Since the previous inspection the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) have been supporting the registered manager to make the required improvements in relation to the safe management of medicines. There were effective systems in place for the safe storage and management of medicine and regular audits were being completed. This was a work in progress at the time of our inspection.

The service had a registered manager. 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 were safeguarded from the risk of harm. There were effective safeguarding procedures in place and staff had received safeguarding training.

There were sufficient numbers of staff deployed to meet people's needs. Safe recruitment practices were followed.

People were asked to consent to their care and support. The service operated within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). Staff felt well supported and received training relevant to their roles.

People were supported to eat a healthy and balanced diet to help maintain their wellbeing. People were assisted to access a range of healthcare professionals.

People appeared comfortable and relaxed when engaging with staff and managers. Staff were positive about their work and the support provided. People were treated with dignity and respect.

People received care that was responsive to their changing needs and the service operated flexibly. People were supported to raise any concerns and these were investigated and resolved effectively.

The service had an open and inclusive culture and staff were positive about the support they received from staff and the registered manager.

Quality monitoring systems and processes were in place to help drive continual improvements. An action plan had been developed which recorded where action needed to be taken. Feedback was being sought to capture people views on the overall quality of the service.