Mar Lodge

Updated 7 February 2024

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Mar Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Mar Lodge is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

What we did before the inspection

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 used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 5 staff members including the registered manager, senior support workers and 2 operations managers. We briefly spoke with and observed staff interactions with all the people who lived at the service and spoke with two people's relatives. We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 people's care records and 7 medicines administration records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, were reviewed. We used the Quality of Life Tool which is designed to support the corroboration of all sources of evidence gathered during inspection.

Updated 7 February 2024

About the service

Mar Lodge provides accommodation, care and support for up to 7 people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. At this inspection they were providing care for 7 people.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

'Right support, right care, right culture' is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

People's experience of using this service and what we found;

Right Support: The building and environment were residential and ‘homely’. The home was designed to enable people to socialise in communal spaces, but also have time alone, or see visitors in private The kitchen was accessible to all people living at the home. People had been supported to personalise their own rooms. There were a number of steps within the building which may present a trip or fall hazard, however, the provider had taken action to reduce risks with adaptations such as brighter lighting and working with individuals to manage the risks while maintaining their independence.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Right Care : People received a structured lifestyle based on their choice and preferences. Staff were appropriately skilled and competent to meet people's needs and keep them safe. Staff knew and understood people’s communication needs, and this supported positive respectful relationships and interactions. People’s independence and abilities were promoted. People lived active lives and were supported to maintain relationships with friends and family.

Right Culture: People's wishes and needs were at the centre of everything. The provider, registered manager and staff were highly motivated to achieve good outcomes for people and were caring and compassionate. Systems and processes for monitoring and improving quality and safety were effective. The culture and values were based on people’s views and priorities and were shared by people, staff and managers.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was ‘good’ (published 12 December 2018).

Recommendations

We recommended the provider take action to improve temperature control in the conservatory so people can access this living space as required at all times of the year.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has remained as ‘good’ based on the findings of this inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.