Virginia Lodge Care Home

Updated 11 November 2022

The inspection

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

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 was completed by 1 inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Virginia Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under 1 contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Virginia Lodge is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service was registered with the Care Quality Commission. The service manager was also the provider. Registered managers and providers 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 used feedback from the local authority safeguarding and commissioning teams. We contacted the local fire authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

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

During the inspection

We spoke with 8 people and 4 relatives about their experiences of the care and support provided. We spoke with the service manager, operations manager, 2 senior care staff, 3 care staff, a cook and a domestic. We also emailed 20 staff for feedback.

We contacted the district nurse team, a specialist Parkinson's disease nurse, the care home team, the infection control team and 2 care managers. We received 5 responses.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people's care records and multiple medicine records and monitoring charts. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment, training and support. 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 to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 11 November 2022

About the service

Virginia Lodge is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 32 people. The service provides support to older people including those who may be living with a dementia and/or a physical disability. At the time of our inspection there were 19 people using the service.

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

People felt safe with kind and caring staff. Risks associated with people using the service or other elements of the home including safety, were assessed and monitored. Accidents and incidents were recorded and reported appropriately.

Medicines were managed safely. The service manager updated some records during the inspection and arranged support from the controlled drugs liaison officer to enhance practice.

Staff provided food and refreshments which people enjoyed and met their individual needs.

Infection control procedures were safe, and the home was kept clean and tidy.

There was enough staff to support people safely, although it was acknowledged it was busy at times. An ongoing safe recruitment process was in place to fill vacant posts. Staff were supported and received a range of training to support them in their roles. We have made a recommendation regarding staff appraisals.

A range of quality assurance checks were in place to monitor the service delivered to people.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 4 November 2021) and there were breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 23 August 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve, safe care and treatment, consent and quality assurance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-Led which contain those requirements.

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.

For the key question of Caring and Responsive which were not inspected, we used the rating awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Virginia Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.