Rowan Lodge

Updated 16 June 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on 3 and 8 May 2018 and was unannounced. The inspection team included two inspectors and two experts 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. Both experts had experience of caring for older people who use services.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information included in the PIR along with information we held about the service, for example, statutory notifications. A notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to tell us about by law.

We reviewed records which included six people’s care plans and six staff recruitment and supervision records. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service such as the Service Improvement Plan (SIP), quality assurance audits, resident meeting minutes and the staffing dependency tool as well as policies including infection control, medicines management and safeguarding.

Not everyone was able to share with us their experiences of life at the service. So we used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We spoke with the registered manager, service manager and director of services as well as seven six care and activity staff and one registered nurse. We also spoke with thirteen people living in the home and eight family members.

Updated 16 June 2018

The inspection took place on 3 and 8 May 2018 and was unannounced.

Rowan Lodge is a care home service with nursing. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission regulates both the premises and the care provided. Both were looked at during this inspection.

Rowan Lodge is registered to provide accommodation and support to 60 people across three floors. The home had a large garden with tables and chairs, which was regularly used by people. At the time of the inspection there were 47 people living at the home.

The service was last inspected on 25 and 30 August 2016 when it was rated overall as 'Requires improvement'. This was because although improvements had been made to staff training, people and their families were more involved in care planning, action had been taken to ensure consent to care and treatment was gained lawfully and quality assurance systems had been improved, not enough time had passed for these changes to be fully embedded into staff’s practice. At this inspection, we found the provider had made the necessary improvements to achieve a rating of overall ‘Good’.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

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

There were systems in place to protect people from avoidable harm and abuse. Staff had received safeguarding training and were knowledgeable about actions to take if they suspected abuse. Sufficient numbers of staff were deployed to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.

There were safe recruitment processes in place to make sure the provider only employed workers who were suitable to work in a care setting. Medicines were stored, recorded and administered safely.

People received care from staff who had appropriate knowledge and skills. Staff were given regular supervision and training to help develop their knowledge.

Staff were aware of the legal protections in place to protect people who lacked mental capacity to make decisions about their care and support.

People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet. Snacks and drinks were available to people at all times. People were supported to access care from relevant healthcare professionals.

Staff had caring relationships with the people they supported and knew them well. Staff encouraged people to communicate their needs and promoted their privacy, dignity and independence.

Care plans reflected care and support that people required and were written in partnership with people and their families.

The provider had processes in place for investigating and responding to complaints and concerns.

The provider had plans in place for delivering end of life care for people. Staff had undertaken end of life care training and an end of life register was used to assist staff in monitoring people if they were in need of end of life care.

Systems were in place for monitoring efficiency and quality within the service so that improvements could be made. These needed to be developed to reflect all actions taken to improve the service.

The provider worked in partnership with healthcare professionals to drive improvements in the service.