About the service Homeside Lodge provides care and support to people living in specialist ‘extra care’ housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is bought or rented and is the occupant’s own home. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support service.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
People felt comfortable, at home and were safeguarded from the risks of abuse by staff who understood their safeguarding responsibilities. Safeguarding policies and procedures were in place, whilst training was supported by ongoing competence assessments and regular items in staff meetings and newsletters.
The registered manager had made a number of changes to improve medicines safety. They and the provider closely monitored any errors and put in place strategies to continue to improve practice in this area. Reflecting on lessons learned was an established part of the culture.
COVID-19 protocols and risk assessments were in place and staff received appropriate training and ample PPE. The registered manager had acted on advice from infection prevention and control specialists.
People’s relatives were impressed with the dedication, competence and knowledge of staff, as were external professionals who had worked with them. People interacted comfortably with staff, who demonstrated a good knowledge of their preferences.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Relatives told us staff were caring, kind and often went out of their way to ensure people felt safe and supported. People and their relatives were involved in the care planning and review process. Care plans were person-centred and people took a lead in compiling them where they wanted.
The culture was open and supportive. Agency usage was low as staff supported each other when there were unexpected absences. Staff felt their opinions were valued and they were engaged in the running of the service. People were actively encouraged to play a part in recruitment for example suggesting interview questions or joining the interview panel.
There were systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality of care being provided. These included checks and audits by on site staff, oversight by regional quality assurance staff, and person-led reviews of how people found their experience at Homeside Lodge.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered on 10 June 2020 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on our approach to inspecting newly registered services.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our reinspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.