Background to this inspection
Updated
14 November 2020
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 registered 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 two inspectors.
Service and service type
Harrier Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (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 CQC. This means that they and the registered provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
We gave a short notice period of the inspection to check if the service had active cases of COVID-19.
What we did before inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection including submitted action plans. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
The registered provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
During the inspection
We spoke with six people who lived in the service and observed some of the care three more people received in communal areas. We spoke with four care staff, the business administrator, the lead quality development manager, operations support manager, registered manager and the clinical lead.
We reviewed the care plans of eight people. We also looked at records relating to the management of medicines, health and safety records and key policies and procedures.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager and provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data, audits and staff allocation records. We also contacted two relatives who gave us their views on the service.
Updated
14 November 2020
About the service
Harrier Lodge is registered to provide nursing and residential care for 65 older people. At the time of this inspection there were 42 people living in the service.
Harrier Lodge has four units: Pebble which is a nursing unit for people living with dementia, Oyster for people who have general nursing needs, Driftwood for general residential needs and Seashell for those living with dementia who require residential support.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they were safe at the service and well supported by staff. A person said, "The staff are kind here and I like them." A relative said, “My mother is very well cared for. Room cleanliness, monitoring of medication and healthy meals are all excellent.”
People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse. Risks to health and safety had been managed and people received safe care and treatment. Medicines were managed safely in line with national guidance. Sufficient staff were deployed and safe recruitment practices were in place. Infection was prevented and controlled. Lessons were learned when things went wrong.
Quality checks monitored and evaluated the service, regulatory requirements were met and good team-working was promoted.
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 Requires Improvement (published 20 February 2020).
Why we inspected
We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 30 December 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The registered provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve the delivery of safe care and treatment and to monitor the operation of the service.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.
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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Harrier Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
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.