Signature Moorlands Lodge Care Home provides facilities and services for up to 106 older people who require personal or nursing care. The service is purpose built and provides accommodation and facilities over three floors. The home is known and referred to as Moorlands Lodge. People requiring assisted living, live in suites that include studio, one and two bedroom flats. On the ground floor a separate area of the service known as Livingstone provides support to people living with a dementia

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good.

People were supported by sufficient staff who had undergone robust recruitment checks to ensure they were suitable to work in the service. Risks to people’s safety were identified and management plans were in place to keep people as safe as possible. Staff understood their responsibilities in keeping safe from abuse and reporting any concerns. Safe medicines management systems were in place. Relevant health and safety checks were completed and the provider had a contingency plans in place.

People are 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 support this practice. Staff received an induction to the service and regular training and supervision. People’s needs were assessed prior to them moving to Moorlands Lodge. People were supported to access healthcare professionals and a variety of nutritious foods were available to help people stay healthy.

Staff knew people well and ensured their care was provided in a person centred manner. Staff treated people with kindness and respected their privacy and dignity. People were supported to maintain their independence and visitors were made to feel welcome to the service.

People received responsive care and detailed care plans were in place to guide staff. There was a varied activities programme in place and community events were planned. Complaints were taken seriously and monitored to prevent reoccurrence.

There was a positive culture within the service and people told us the registered manager was approachable. Quality assurance systems were in place to monitor the service provided and action was taken where any concerns were identified. People were able to contribute to the running of the service and regular feedback was sought. Records were well maintained and securely stored.

Further information is in the detailed findings below

During our inspection we spoke with six people who used the service. All the people we spoke with were very positive about the service. One person we spoke with said; “I can’t fault this place. As a care home it’s excellent”. Another person said; “You couldn’t fault them”. A third person said; “A lot of thought has gone into it. It’s very comfortable”. A fourth person we spoke with said; “I’m terribly impressed. It’s very good here”.

We found people were involved in the planning and the delivery of their care and their opinions were regularly sought. We saw people had signed their care plans in order to provide their consent to their care and staff asked people’s permission prior to delivering care. We saw the service had ensured risk assessments had been carried out for each person in order to ensure their care and welfare and that all staff had been trained in safeguarding. We found the service had appropriate systems in place to manage the storage, administration and disposal of medicines.

We spoke with seven people who used the service. Everyone we spoke with told us the staff were very good. They told us staff were always respectful, polite, kind and friendly. They told us that the care they received was very good and that they had no complaints in relation to their care.

Every person we spoke with told us they liked their apartments very much and felt very safe at the home. Two people we spoke with told us they had used the emergency buzzers and that staff had arrived to help within seconds.

All the people we spoke with told us the food was good but sometimes not to their taste. They told us there was a good selection of foods should they not like their meal.

All the people we spoke with told us they would feel comfortable approaching the management if they had any concerns however one person told us they found it difficult to get hold of the appropriate person.

Two people we spoke with told us the staff were very good at promoting people’s independence and keeping them mobile and self sufficient. One person we spoke with told us they thought the way the staff dealt with medication was ‘atrocious’. They explained there had been problems with their prescription and receiving their medication on time. The other people we spoke with did not report any issues with their medication.

Signature Moorlands Lodge Care Home provides facilities and services for up to 106 older people who require personal or nursing care. The service is purpose built and provides accommodation and facilities over three floors.

The home is known and referred to as Moorlands Lodge. People live in apartments that include studio, one and two bedroom flats. On the ground floor a separate area of the home has been allocated to the care of people living with a dementia as a prime care need. This is known as Livingstone, accommodates up to 20 people and has a secure entrance arrangement. The main building provides care for people described as requiring assisted living. These people are allocated packages of care according to their needs which is provided by the staff working within the home. People have varying needs many leading independent lives with the support of the homes facilities. Couples, where one person required care and support were accommodated, this enabled people to continue living together and for both people to get the support they needed to facilitate this. A few people also lived with mild dementia that required regular prompting and supervision. Other people had more complex health and physical care needs that required management and nursing care. For example people living with Multiple Sclerosis or Diabetes. Moorlands Lodge also provided end of life care under the supervision of the registered nurses and community specialist support.

At the time of this inspection 19 people were living on Livingston and 75 were accommodated within the main building. This inspection took place on 9 and 10 November 2015 and was unannounced.

The service had a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.

The quality monitoring systems and governance systems needed further development to ensure they were used to ensure best practice and to identify shortfalls and demonstrate effective responses. This included robust recruitment practice for staff and volunteers and the establishment of care documentation that was accurate up to date and completed in a consistent way.

People were looked after by staff who knew and understood them well. Staff treated people with kindness and compassion and supported them to maintain their independence. They showed respect and maintained people’s dignity. All feedback received from people and their representatives through the inspection process was very positive about the care, the approach of the staff and atmosphere in the home. Comments included, “I feel totally safe, nothing is too much trouble, it's amazing, the staff are superb,” and “I have no grumbles, I'm looked after very well.”

All feedback from visiting professionals was very positive. They appreciated the skills of staff in responding to people’s needs especially in relation to people who lived with a dementia. They also complimented the team work within the service and with them.

Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and knew what actions to take if they believed people were at risk of abuse. Staff understood the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Senior staff had an understanding of DoLS and what may constitute a deprivation of liberty and followed correct procedures to protect people’s rights.

Staff were provided with a full induction and training programme which supported them to meet the needs of people. Staffing arrangements ensured staff worked in such numbers, with the appropriate skills that people’s needs could be met in a timely and safe fashion. The registered nurses attended additional training to update and ensure their nursing competency.

People were given information on how to make a complaint and said they were comfortable to raise a concern or complaint if need be. A complaints procedure was readily available for people to use.

People were complementary about the food and the choices available. Mealtimes were unrushed and people were assisted according to their need. Staff monitored people’s nutritional needs and responded to them.

People were supported to take part in a range of activities maintain their own friendships and relationships. Staff related to people as individuals and took an interest in what was important to them.

Feedback was regularly sought from people, relatives and staff. People were encouraged to share their views on a daily basis and satisfaction surveys had been completed. The management style fostered in the home was transparent listened and responded to people and staff’s views.