Archived: Cripps Lodge

Updated 21 March 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on the 8, 9, 12 and 13 February 2018 and it was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice to ensure that staff were available to support the inspection and people were at home. We made telephone calls to people and their relatives on 8 February 2018 and visited people in their homes on the 9 February 2018. We visited the office location on 12 and 13 February 2018 to see the registered manager and staff; and to review care records and policies and procedures.

The inspection was undertaken by one inspector and two experts 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. The experts by experience who supported this inspection had experience of accessing mental health and dementia support services and services that support older people.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. The provider completed and returned the PIR in January 2018 and we considered this when we made judgements in this report. We also reviewed other information that we held about the service such as notifications, these detail events, which happened in the service that the provider is required to tell us about; and information that had been sent to us by other agencies.

We sought feedback from commissioners who had placed people and monitored the service. We also contacted Healthwatch; an independent consumer champion for people who use health and social care services.

During this inspection we spoke with thirteen people who used the service and five people’s relatives on the telephone and visited five people at home. We spoke with four support workers, two team leaders and the registered manager. We reviewed five peoples care records to ensure they were reflective of their needs, six staff files, and other documents relating to the management and governance of the service.

Updated 21 March 2018

Cripps Lodge is registered to provide personal care support to people in their own homes. At the time of our inspection, the service was providing care to ninety-six people.

At our last inspection, we rated the service ‘Good.’ At this inspection, we found the evidence continued to support the rating of ‘Good’ and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

People continued to receive safe care. Staff received safeguarding training so they knew how to recognise the signs of abuse and how to report any concerns. Risk management plans were in place to protect and promote people's safety.

There were enough staff deployed to keep people safe. Recruitment practices ensured staff were suitable to work with people.

Staff received comprehensive induction training when they first commenced work at the service. On-going refresher training ensured staff were able to provide care and support for people following current practice. Staff supervision systems ensured that staff received regular one to one supervision and appraisal of their performance.

Staff supported people to access health care services when required, to make sure people received appropriate healthcare to meet their needs. People received support to eat and drink sufficient amounts to maintain a varied and balanced diet.

Where the provider supported people to take their medicines staff followed best practice guidelines. Staff followed infection control procedures to reduce the risks of spreading infection or illness.

People were encouraged to be involved in decisions about their care and support. Staff demonstrated their understanding of the Mental Capacity Act, 2005 (MCA) and they gained people's consent before providing care.

People had their diverse needs assessed, they had positive relationships with staff and received care that met their personal preferences. Staff consistently provided people with care in a respectful compassionate way. People had their privacy, dignity and confidentiality maintained at all times.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and had a process in place which ensured people could raise any complaints or concerns.

The service notified the Care Quality Commission of certain events and incidents, as required.