Mill Lodge Care Home

Updated 15 February 2022

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 COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on the 3 February 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 15 February 2022

This inspection was unannounced and took place on the 18 June 2018. Mill 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. Mill Lodge is registered to provide accommodation for up to 20 older people, some of whom were living with dementia. At the time of inspection there were 16 people living at the home.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.’

At our last inspection on 24 and 25 October 2016 we rated the service as ‘requires improvement’. We found the provider was in breach of the regulation regarding good governance. We asked the provider to take action to ensure there were robust quality assurance systems in place to drive improvement within the home. At this inspection, we found the provider had made improvements to meet this regulation.

We found a staffing tool had been developed to ensure there was a sufficient number of staff to support people. People’s individual risks were assessed and staff knew how to support people to reduce their risks. People told us they felt safe and staff knew how to report concerns both within the organisation and externally. The provider had processes in place to ensure safe recruitment of staff. We found improvements had been made to medicine management systems and people told us they received their medicines as prescribed.

Staff received training and had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs effectively. Staff sought consent before providing support to people and people were supported to make their own decisions.

People told us they enjoyed their meals and meal times were a pleasant experience. We saw staff encouraged people to drink and eat sufficient amounts throughout the day. People had access to healthcare professionals when required.

People had the opportunity to take part in both group and individual activities. People had been asked what they enjoyed doing and this had been accommodated for. People’s needs were reviewed on a regular basis and people and their relatives were involved and felt listened to. People and relatives knew how to complain and felt confident in doing so.

People were supported by staff that knew them well. Staff were kind and caring towards people and promoted their independence.

The provider had made improvements to their quality assurance audits, ensuring they identified trends from incidents. The provider had action plans in place to drive improvement. People and relatives spoke positively about the registered manager.