This unannounced inspection took place on the 26 January 2017. At the last inspection on 1 April 2015, no regulations had been breached and the service was rated good overall but there was some improvement required in certain aspects of the service. At this inspection we found that improvements had been made.

Victoria Lodge Care Home is a residential care home which provides accommodation with personal care for up to 24 older people. At the time of our inspection 22 people were living at the home.

A registered manager was 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People living in Victoria Lodge were very happy with the service they received because they felt safe, comfortable and valued by the staff that supported them. The registered manager and provider provided very strong leadership that ensured that people were at the centre of everything that was done. The registered manager and provider led by example and ensured the development of an ethos and culture where people were valued as individuals and where they were supported to feel at home. This helped people to feel a sense of belonging and being valued.

The registered manager carried out audits and checks to ensure the home was running properly to meet people's needs and to monitor the quality of the care people received. The provider was involved in the home on a daily basis and knew people and their relatives personally and showed a keen interest in their well being. There were close links with the local community shops and services so that people were able to do everyday things such as shopping. The registered manager was involved in supporting local schools to develop their students' interests in the needs of people that received care in an effort to encourage them to consider a career in health and social care. Improvements were identified through consultation with people, relatives and professionals involved in the home. For example, the provider had planned to provide accommodation for relatives to use so that they could be close to their loved ones when they were unwell. This showed that the provider placed a high value on meeting the needs of people and their relatives.

People received care that was kind and compassionate, tailored to the individual and provided by staff that were respectful, trained, well supported and managed to ensure that people received an excellent caring service. Relationships with families and friends were cherished and developed so that people were able to maintain and develop their ties with people important to them. Friends and families built relationships with other people living in the home and often continued to visit them after their own family members had passed away. This provided people living in the home with a continuation of friendships and interactions with a wide group of people that were interested in them as individuals and that enhanced their quality of life. Staff had been commended by relatives about the support they and their loved ones had received during the difficult times at the end of their loved one’s lives.

People were supported to eat in a calm and supportive environment that provided opportunity to socialise as well as eat. People received food and drinks that they liked and that met their dietary needs. A freshly prepared meal was available to people in the home on a daily basis and some people were able to be involved in the mealtime experience through baking, setting the tables and clearing up after meals. People were enabled to eat at times that suited their needs and a freshly prepared meal available at most times during the day.

Staff told us they liked working in the home because they had

This inspection took place on 1 April 2015 and was unannounced. We last inspected this service on 18 January 2014 when the service was compliant with all regulations inspected.

The service can provide care and accommodation to up to 24 people with ailments associated with old age but who do not require nursing care. All bedrooms are singly occupied and have en suite facilities available. Bedrooms are provided over two floors but a passenger lift connects the floors so that people with reduced mobility can access the home throughout.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

All the people and relatives spoken with were complimentary about the home and staff and were happy with the service provided.

Staff had the skills and knowledge to recognise if abuse was occurring and knew how to escalate any concerns they had.

People were protected from unnecessary harm because systems were in place to identify, assess and minimise identified risks.

There were sufficient numbers of suitably trained staff to ensure that people’s needs were met and staff had time to chat with people. There were friendly and supportive interactions between the staff and people that lived there.

People were supported to receive their medicines however it could not always be assured that people had received their medicines as prescribed because of poor recording.

People and their relatives were involved in making decisions about people’s care so that their rights were upheld and support was provided in the way people wanted. People were supported to maintain contact with relatives and friends.

People received food and drink that met their needs and preferences. People were supported to access medical support as and when required so that they remained as healthy as possible.

There were group and individual activities arranged for people to be involved in if they wanted.

The registered manager and provider were available to people and their relatives so that any concerns they had could be raised and addressed appropriately.

Systems were in place that ensured that the views of people were used to improve the service on an ongoing basis.

There were 23 people living in the home at the time of our visit. The provider did not know we were coming. We spoke with the acting manager, the provider, four relatives, four staff and five people living in the home.

People told us and we saw that staff respected their privacy and dignity and that they were given choices about their care. One person told us, “I cannot praise the staff enough. They are kind considerate and very helpful’’. This meant people were happy with their care.

People’s care and health care needs were planned and met in a personalised way. All staff spoken with told us they had the information they needed to care for people safely.

People spoken with told us that they were given a choice about what they wanted to eat each day. We saw that all meals were homemade. One person told us, “The food is very good we get plenty to eat and drink, any time we ask’’.

Staff were clear about the action to take should they become aware of an allegation of abuse in the home. All relatives and the people we spoke with told us they felt secure and knew who to tell if they had concerns and were confident that these would be acted upon.

There were effective systems in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. One person told us, “It always smells nice here’’

There were systems in place to monitor how the home was run, and action taken where feedback from the people using the service would improve the service provided to them.

During our inspection we spoke with four people who lived at the home, observed one person using SOFI and spoke with five relatives. We also spoke with three members of staff, the manager as well as the provider. We sampled three sets of care records for people living at the home.

People were happy with the standard of care that they were receiving. One person commented " Staff are nice and friendly, I am well looked after". Another person that we spoke with told us “The care is good I am very happy".

People told us that they were afforded dignity and respect and independence was promoted.

Care plans and risk assessment were in place to support people’s needs and care was person centred.

Safeguarding procedures were in place and staff were confident that they would recognise and report any allegations of abuse.

Staff were supported, supervised and trained to provide safe and effective care.

There was an effective complaints system available so that complaints people made could be responded to appropriately.

People who lived at Victoria Lodge were very positive about their care. One person told us it was a friendly place to live. Another said that the care workers would sort out any problems. "They make sure people have what they need".