Cypress Lodge

Updated 18 April 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 team was made up of 2 inspectors and 1 Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Cypress Lodge is a ‘care home.’ People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under 1 contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Cypress 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 registered with CQC, however they had resigned from their post and were not in charge of the day to day running of the service.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. 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 6 people, 3 relatives and 4 staff. We reviewed various records in relation to the running of the service, including audits, checks and medicines records. We undertook a visual inspection of the premises.

Updated 18 April 2023

About the service

Cypress Lodge is a residential care home providing personal care to 7 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 10 people.

Cypress Lodge consists of 2 detached buildings, Cypress Lodge and Willow Cottage. Both buildings provide level access to communal gardens, kitchens, and lounges. Private accommodation is laid out over 2 floors in each building. The manager’s office is located on the ground floor of Cypress Lodge.

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 Care: Although improvements had been made since our last inspection, further improvement was needed to ensure people received consistently safe care. Areas of people’s private accommodation was still visibly unclean and provider checks had not identified these shortfalls. We found 1 occasion when the provider failed to report unexplained bruising to the local authority safeguarding team and observed 1 person had access to cleaning chemicals on 1 occasion during our inspection.

Right Support: The deputy manager was in the process of introducing a key-worker role to ensure care was more person-centred. People’s thoughts and feelings were explored through ‘it’s all about you’ meetings. Staff told us they respected people’s privacy and protected their dignity.

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 Culture: Staff told us the culture of the service had improved since our last inspection and there were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff to meet people’s needs. The provider was aware of CQC’s framework in relation to inspecting services for people with autism and learning disabilities and was working towards ensuring care delivery in line with these principles.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 16 June 2022)

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found the provider remained in breach of regulations.

This service has been in Special Measures since June 2022. During this inspection, the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

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.

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection. 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 changed from inadequate to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and governance at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.