Lona Lodge

Updated 20 January 2023

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Lona 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. Lona 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

This inspection was announced. We gave the service 24 hours' notice of the inspection visit to ensure the registered manager was available.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered, including the notifications of accidents and incidents we had received from the provider. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with two members of staff, the nominated individual and the registered manager.

We made observations around the service. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people's care records and medicines records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including training information and policies and procedures were reviewed.

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 20 January 2023

Lona Lodge is a care home providing personal care to up to a maximum of four people. The service provides support to adults with mental health needs. The aim is to help people to live with more independence in the community and the average length of stay is approximately two years before people move to more independent living arrangements. At the time of our inspection there were three people using the service.

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

Lona Lodge was exceptionally well led. The provider's ethos and values put people at the heart of the service. This vision was driven by the exceptional leadership of the nominated individual and of the registered manager. The staff team were empowered to contribute fully to support a person-centred model of effective care. This helped people using the service, with complex needs, to achieve their hopes and aspirations for more independent living.

People, their relatives and professionals all praised the managers and the staff team and gave examples of the outstanding care that was delivered.

People received personalised care and support according to their needs and wishes. This was particularly effective in supporting people to achieve their goals and outcomes as it also helped people to be more confident in developing the skills they needed to achieve more independent living.

The provider created the right culture where their staff could develop and provided the right training and support to make sure they could fulfil their roles appropriately. One staff commented, “I just think they are an inspirational company who really believe in all the things they are doing. It’s significant work and they genuinely care about people and all their employees. They never stop trying to improve.”

The service was flexible and adapted to people's changing needs and wishes and promoted their independence. Care was person centred and risk assessments were in place. Risk management plans helped staff as well as the person to minimise risks but included positive risk taking.

People's diversity and their unique individual needs were well-respected by staff. The staff team knew people extremely well and were able to provide appropriate support discreetly and with compassion.

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 were all focussed on achieving these outcomes.

People were encouraged and supported to lead as fulfilled a life as possible. They were supported to follow their dreams and aspirations.

There was clear evidence of collaborative working and excellent communication with other professionals in health and social care as well as in the community and education sectors. The provider used innovative ways to build excellent relationships with the community and with health and social care professionals so that people using the service would benefit.

Staffing levels were extremely good and sufficient to ensure people's needs were met in a safe, timely and consistent way.

Staff were supported and encouraged to continue their professional development in order to progress and provide the best outcomes for people.

People were kept safe. Staff demonstrated they knew how to raise safeguarding concerns and were aware of the processes to follow in order to keep people safe. People told us they were kept safe and that they felt safe.

Care and support plans were developed to ensure people’s needs and risks were met appropriately. This was to assist people to work towards achieving their maximum potential in terms of their independence. Risk management strategies were in place to assist staff to help people to manage these risks and to identify triggers for behaviours that may challenge.

The administration of medicines was managed in a safe way. There were policies and procedures in place for staff to follow and staff told us they found them useful in ensuring people received their medicines safely.

The service was following safe infection prevention and control procedures to keep people safe.

People were assisted to become more independent with their menu planning and budgeting so as to enable them to eat more healthily and within their budgets. They were helped with developing their meal preparation skills.

People's health care needs were being met and they had access to healthcare services where needed.

Staff were kind and caring, they respected and valued people using the service.

People's privacy was respected, and people were supported to maintain contact with relatives and friends.

There was a comprehensive and effective governance system in place.

People, relatives and staff were confident about approaching the registered manager if they needed to. They recognised that their views and feedback were valued and respected and consistently used to support quality service development. A wide range of comprehensive audits took place to ensure the quality of the service was maintained.

Robust processes were in place to manage and respond to complaints and concerns.

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

Rating at last inspection

This last rating for this service was good (published 14 August 2018)).

Why we inspected

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

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

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