Archived: Hunters Lodge

Updated 30 November 2015

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.

We inspected the service on 8 October 2015. The inspection was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of two inspectors.

Before our inspection visit, we reviewed information that we held about the provider. Information we reviewed included notifications sent to us by the provider. A notification tells us about important events which the service is required to tell us by law.

We spoke with four people who used the service, relatives of five people who use the service, six staff members, including the registered manager and deputy manager, and a health professional who visited the service. These include face to face conversations and telephone conversations. We looked at the care records of four people who used the service, information about training that staff have completed, people’s medication records, two staff recruitment files and the provider’s quality monitoring documentation.

We also observed care and support being provided by staff in the communal areas of the home. From our observations we could determine how staff interacted with people who use the service, and how people responded to the interactions. This was so that we could understand people’s experiences.

Updated 30 November 2015

We carried out our inspection on 8th October 2015. The inspection was unannounced.

The service provides accommodation for up to 17 people living with a learning disability and similar disabilities. There were 14 people using the service at the time of our inspection.

The service has a registered manager. 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.

People felt safe at Hunters Lodge.Staff had a good understanding of the provider’s procedures for keeping people safe, and were able to put the safeguarding procedures into practice when supporting people. Staff told us that they would firstly report any concerns to the managers. The managers had always referred concerns onto the relevant authorities.

Staffing levels were based on people’s assessed dependencies and needs. Enough staff were on duty to ensure that people needs were met safely.

People received their medicines as prescribed. The provider had effective protocols for their safe management .

Many of the staff were relatively new to the service. They had either completed or nearly completed their induction training which included training about important subjects such as supporting people safely and understanding their needs. The provider had a training plan that was aimed at ensuring staff received training that enabled them to support people. Staff felt supported through the delivery of the training program and individual support from the managers.

The registered manager and deputy manager had a good understanding of the relevance of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards to their work.

Staff supported people to have enough to eat and drink and to have a healthy balanced diet.

People were supported with their healthcare needs and were supported to access healthcare services when they needed them.

Relatives that we spoke with told us very positive things about the caring attitude of the staff.

Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity, and were knowledgeable about ways to ensure that people’s privacy and dignity were protected. Staff were keen to offer people a good service and committed to improving the quality of people’s lives. They were knowledgeable about the people they cared for and knew how best to meet their needs.

People and their relatives were involved in the assessment of their needs and in the review of their care plans.

The provider had effective procedures for monitoring and assessing the quality of service that promoted continuous improvement. A major part of this was the annual survey of people using the service and relatives.