Archived: Claremont Lodge Care Home

Updated 28 February 2020

The inspection:

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.

Inspection team:

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type:

Claremont Lodge Care Home 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.

The service had a manager who was registered with the Care Quality Commission. Registered managers and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

This was an unannounced inspection, which meant the provider and staff were not aware that we were coming.

What we did:

The provider completed a provider information return prior to this inspection (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection:

We observed the support that people received, spoke with people and staff and gathered information relating to the management of the service. We used the short observational framework for inspection (SOFI), which is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four staff recruitment files, training records, records relating to the management of the service and a variety of policies and procedures and quality assurance processes developed and implemented by the provider. We reviewed five people’s electronic care records.

We also spoke with seven people living at the service and two visitors. We also spoke with seven members of staff, including the registered manager, the deputy manager, two registered nurses, the chef and two care staff.

Updated 28 February 2020

About the service:

Claremont Lodge Care Home is a care home registered to provide nursing and residential care and accommodation for up to 35 people with various health conditions, including dementia and sensory impairment. There were 29 people living at the service on the day of our inspection. Claremont Lodge Care Home is a purpose built care home located in Fontwell, West Sussex.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were happy with the care they received, felt relaxed with staff and told us they were treated with kindness. They said they felt safe, were well supported and there were sufficient staff to care for them.

Our own observations supported this, and we saw friendly relationships had developed between people and staff. One person told us, “The staff are all very kind, one of them is very funny and makes me laugh”.

People enjoyed an independent lifestyle and told us their choices and needs were met. They enjoyed the food, drink and activities that took place daily. One person told us, “I enjoy the food, it’s got better recently”. A relative added, “I’m perfectly happy with the care [my relative] receives, I have no worries”.

People felt the service was well presented and welcoming to them and their visitors. A relative told us, “We visit regularly and are always made to feel welcome. I’ve enjoyed the meals we’ve had here too”.

People told us they thought the service was well managed and they enjoyed living there. One person told us, “The manager is very nice, she pops in to say hello”.

Staff had received training considered essential by the provider. It was clear from observing the care delivered and the feedback people and staff gave us, that they knew the best way to care for people in line with their needs and preferences. A member of staff told us, “We get the time to get to know people and that’s really good”.

The provider had systems of quality assurance to measure and monitor the standard of the service and drive improvement. These systems also supported people to stay safe by assessing and mitigating risks, ensuring that people were cared for in a person centred way and that the provider learned from any mistakes. Our own observations and the feedback we received supported this. People received high quality care that met their needs and improved their wellbeing from dedicated and enthusiastic staff. A member of staff said, “It’s really nice working here, we all get on and we all care for the residents”.

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

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 25 July 2018).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the intelligence we receive about this home and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated Good. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.