We carried out a review of the data available to us about Roberts Lodge on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Roberts Lodge, you can give feedback on this service.
Roberts Lodge is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 5 people. The service provides support to people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were 4 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
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.
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.
Right Support:
The service supported people to have as much choice, control and independence as they could. The service planned for when people experienced periods of distress so their freedoms were restricted only if there was no alternative. The service supported people in a safe, clean, and well-maintained environment.
Right Care:
People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs. The service had enough suitably skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.
Right Culture:
Staff knew and understood people, and were responsive in supporting people’s needs. Staff turnover was low, which supported people to receive consistent care. Staff ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised so people received support based on transparency, respect, and inclusivity.
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 21 October 2021).
Why we inspected
This inspection 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.
We received concerns in relation to how the service supported people safely. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating of good.
We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Roberts Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
Roberts Lodge is a residential care home which can provide care and accommodation to up to five people. At the time of the inspection four people were living at the service. Roberts Lodge provides support to adults who have a range of health and social care needs including learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and/or physical disabilities.
Roberts Lodge is a domestic style property and people’s accommodation and living areas were spread across three floors. People had their own ensuite bedrooms and access to a range of communal areas including a lounge, dining room and secure garden area.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
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.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.
The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. People were supported in the way they wanted, respecting their human rights and enabling them to live a life like anyone else.
People were supported to eat and drink enough and made choices about their food. People were respected and well treated by staff, who supported them as individuals and with regard to equality and diversity. People were encouraged to express their views and make everyday decisions. The provider complied with the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards when people were at risk of being deprived of their liberty. Staff respected people’s need for privacy and dignity. People were supported to maintain relationships which were important to them, for example, by visiting family members.
The provider had policies and procedures in place designed to protect people from the risk of harm and abuse. Risk assessments were in place and equipment was checked and maintained regularly. The provider ensured there were enough staff to meet people’s assessed needs and had robust recruitment procedures in place. Staff were supported through induction, training, supervision and appraisal.
The provider ensured they assessed people’s needs with a view to identifying whether the service could meet their needs, before they moved into the home. People’s care was planned to meet their individual needs and preferences. People’s care plans gave staff information about their preferred way of communication.
The provider ensured the building layout met people’s individual needs and this included a sensory room had been built in the garden.
People were supported to visit healthcare professionals when necessary. People received their medicines as prescribed, by trained staff.
The provider had a complaints procedure in place which was in a relevant format for the reader. The provider had systems in place to identify where things could have been done differently, when things went wrong.
The provider and registered manager promoted a positive culture which was person-centred and achieved good outcomes for people. People, relatives, staff and external professionals were involved in how the home was run. The registered manager and provider were committed to continuous learning and improving care. Staff worked in partnership with external professionals and followed guidance which was offered.
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
This is the first comprehensive inspection of this service. However, we previously inspected the key questions Safe and Well-led and found breaches which led to a rating of requires improvement (published 14 October 2020).
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 improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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 until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Roberts Lodge is a residential care home which can provide care and accommodation to up to four people. At the time of the inspection four people were living at the service. Roberts Lodge provides support to adults who have a range of health and social care needs including learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder and/or physical disabilities.
Roberts Lodge is a domestic style property and people’s accommodation and living areas were spread across three floors. People had their own bedrooms and ensuite and access to a range of communal areas including a lounge, dining room and secure garden area.
The service has been developed and designed taking into account the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This guidance ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. The guidance supports people using the service to receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them. The service was a small home which fits with the local domestic style properties. It was registered for the support of up to four people, in line with best practice guidance. There were deliberately no identifying signs, industrial bins or anything outside to indicate it was a care home.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
There were safeguarding procedures in place, however we found that the provider did not always effectively follow their policy to ensure they met their legal requirements. We found risks to people were not always effectively identified or appropriately assessed. We found environmental risks such as legionella bacteria and fire safety measures were not always appropriately managed to ensure people’s safety. Staff practices supported people to manage the risk of acquiring an infection. We spoke with relatives who provided positive feedback on the care their loved one’s received. People were supported to receive their medicines safely and had appropriate levels of staff support to meet their needs.
The service did not always operate good governance. Systems in place to review the quality of people’s care and ensure records were complete and accurate were not always effective. Audits were not always robust and did not identify the concerns we found at this inspection. The provider was unable to demonstrate evidence of effective oversight of the service for the duration of the service registration. We received professional feedback that leadership roles and responsibilities were not always clear.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 18/10/2019 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to the providers ability to implement and adhere to national guidance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These were raised both by local health commissioners and through our on-going engagement with the service. The concerns were that staff were not wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and infection risks to people, specifically around COVID-19, had not been robustly assessed or managed. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. As this service has not received a rating in any of the other key questions, we have not provided an overall rating for the service. However, each of the key questions we looked at has had a rating calculated based on the evidence we reviewed.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service.
We have identified breaches in relation to people’s safe care and treatment, incidents of failing to escalate information relating to safeguarding people from abuse and a failure to ensure good governance.
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 for 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 return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.