West Lodge Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Learning culture
• Safe systems, pathways and transitions
• Safeguarding
• Involving people to manage risks
• Safe environments
• Safe and effective staffing
• Infection prevention and control
• Medicines optimisation

Safe – this means we looked for evidence that people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. At our last assessment we rated this key question Inadequate. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a proactive and positive culture of safety based on openness and honesty. Staff listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice. We found robust systems and processes where incidents were investigated in a meaningful way to put measures in place to reduce or mitigate incidents re-occurring. Learning was shared with staff, people and relatives.

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care in which safety was managed or monitored. They made sure there was continuity of care including when people moved between different services. Improvements had been made to rebuild professional relationships with health professionals. We found clear processes and systems in place for staff to know when and how to contact relevant health professionals. People’s care records had been updated with people or people who were important to them to ensure accurate information was shared with relevant professionals. The management team worked positively with the local authority and integrated care board (ICB). We received positive feedback from staff and partners regarding the systems and processes the new manager had implemented ensuring people were receiving safe clinical care.

The provider worked with people and healthcare partners to understand what being safe meant to them and the best way to achieve that. Staff concentrated on improving people’s lives while protecting their right to live in safety, free from bullying, harassment, abuse, discrimination, avoidable harm and neglect. The management team understood their responsibilities regarding the action to take to protect people from harm and we saw examples where action had been taken to protect people where required. Incident records demonstrated the duty of candour was always reviewed to see if it applied to the incident. The manager shared concerns quickly and appropriately with the local authority safeguarding team. All the people we spoke with told us they felt safe. Staff felt confident raising any concerns with the management team and were confident appropriate action would be taken. Staff had completed safeguarding training and there was a policy in place to provide staff with guidance.

The manager worked with people to understand and manage risks by thinking holistically. Staff provided care to meet people’s needs that was safe, supportive and enabled people to do the things that mattered to them. People had opportunities to be involved with their care and support. Care plans demonstrated if people were not able to be involved and contact had been made with people who were important to them. A person visiting their friend told us, “I visit daily, and staff know everyone well and how to manage their risks. The other day I saw a staff member break [person]’s biscuit up because they knew the person struggled to pick up a whole biscuit. With [person] they have supported them to regain the weight they lost during a long hospital stay. It’s things like that, which make the difference.” People told us equipment was always available whenever they needed support. We observed people were supported by staff to remain as independent as possible, whilst risk-reducing measures were considered.

The provider detected and controlled potential risks in the care environment. They made sure equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care. We found health and safety checks had been completed. For example, manager walk arounds had been improved to include the health and safety of the building daily. During our visit we found improvements and fire regulations were adhered to. A system had been put into place to ensure hazardous products, including aerosol cans of air fresheners were securely stored.

The provider made sure there were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff, who received effective support, supervision and development. They worked together well to provide safe care that met people’s individual needs. People and staff told us there was enough staff to meet people’s care needs. The management team told us they did not use any agency staff to ensure continuity of care for people. The provider updated the tool they used to calculate staffing to ensure it was reflective to the hours of staffing people needed in line with their assessed care needs. Staff had completed moving and handing training twice since our last visit and we observed improvements in how people received support. Staff had completed positive behaviour support training to provide them with the knowledge on how to support people who show signs of distressed or anxiety. Staff were provided with the opportunity to have staff meetings and one to one supervision to discuss any concerns, achievements, personal development or training needs.

The provider assessed and managed the risk of infection. They detected and controlled the risk of it spreading and shared concerns with appropriate agencies promptly. People told us the home was clean and told us their bedrooms were cleaned daily. There was a cleaning schedule in place to ensure all areas of the home were cleaned. This meant people were protected from the spread of infection. The management team told us they had had a deep clean completed in the kitchen and we observed improvements to food hygiene practices. The fridge was clean and food was dated. This meant the staff had followed food hygiene guidance to ensure food was safe for consumption. We saw any dirt or spillages in the home were quickly removed.

The provider made sure that medicines and treatments were safe and met people’s needs, capacities and preferences. Staff involved people in planning, including when changes happened. People told us they were happy with how staff supported them with their medicines, and they received their medicines on time. Robust processes and systems were in place for time-critical medicines. There were clear records to show what time these medicines had been administered. Improvements had been made to handwritten medicine entries; these had been signed by two staff members to confirm the transcribing was correct to reduce errors. We found topical medicines were stored safely. Medicine checks were completed by the new manager and action had been taken where concerns had been identified. Staff had received training on how to administer medicines safely. The management team had regularly assessed staff competency to ensure they were following best practice.