Martham Lodge Residential Care Home

Updated 30 July 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 was carried out by one inspector and one assistant inspector.

Service and service type

Martham Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a 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.

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. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We also undertook observations of people receiving care. We spoke with members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, two care workers and the cook. We also spoke with the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and three people’s medicines records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. Feedback from health care professionals and a variety of records relating to the management and governance of the service were also reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training information, information around people’s health outcomes and we spoke with a community nurse who regularly visited the service.

Updated 30 July 2019

About the service

Martham Lodge is a residential care home providing personal care to 20 people aged 65 and over. The home accommodates people in one adapted building. At the time of the inspection 20 people were living there.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Staff training was excellent and tailored to individual needs and this promoted extremely personalised care. The service developed strong links with health care professionals and people’s health needs were met very well. People received individualised support with their nutrition and hydration and the home was well adapted to meet individual needs. 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.

Staff ensured people were always provided with care that kept them safe. Relatives had full confidence in the staff managing any potential risks to people using the service. Medicines were managed very effectively and where possible, people were supported to reduce the amount of medicine they were taking.

People and relatives told us about, and we saw staff delivering sensitive care. Staff developed warm relationships with people and their relatives and this maximised the benefit of the care provided. People were encouraged to live their lives as independently as possible and staff always ensured people’s dignity was upheld. People were encouraged to make choices about their care.

Staff delivered individualised care and they were committed to promoting people’s wellbeing. Staff responded very well to any changes in people’s needs. The service actively helped people avoid social isolation. People and relatives had confidence that if there were any issues these would be quickly resolved. End of Life care and support was good.

The registered manager demonstrated effective leadership and the service was very well managed and governed. There was a caring and supportive working culture which promoted staff development and improvements in care delivery. Equality and diversity was encouraged. Engagement with the community and other stakeholders involved in care provision was good.

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 October 2016)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.