Updated 19 November 2019
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection team consisted of one inspector, a specialist advisor with clinical experience and expertise in nursing and an Expert by Experience on the first day. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. On the second day the inspection team consisted of one inspector.
Service and service type
Latham 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.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they 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 inspection was unannounced on day one.
What we did before the inspection
We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.
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. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection-
Some people at Latham Lodge were not able to fully share with us their experiences of using the service. Therefore, we spent time observing interactions between people and the staff supporting them in in communal areas.
We spoke with eight people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 15 members of staff including a representative for the provider, the registered manager, team leaders, carers, nurses, activities coordinator and the chef.
We reviewed a range of records. This included 13 people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection –
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.