Amber Lodge Nursing Home

This focussed assessment was carried out to follow up on the breaches of regulation found at our last assessment. We assessed a small number of quality statements from the safe, effective and well-led key questions and found areas of good practice. The scores for these areas have been combined with scores based on the key question ratings from the last assessment. The service had made improvements and are no longer in breach of regulations. All key questions are now rated as ‘Good’.

Incidents were now used to learn where further improvements could be made. Staff were encouraged to report any concerns so they could be reviewed and used to develop good practice.

People now received good support to eat and drink well. Information on people’s dietary needs and any risks had been clearly identified and communicated to staff.

People were now supported by confident and competent staff when they were assisted to transfer positions, including when they needed to use equipment, such as a hoist to do so.

There were enough staff to provide care to people. Staff were attentive to people and involved them in decisions about their care.

People’s care plans and risk assessments were up to date and reflected their care needs and contained enough information to ensure people received safe and effective care.

People were asked for their consent and could choose from a variety of meal options. Risks to people’s health were monitored to help promote positive health outcomes for people. For example, their weight was monitored to ensure they maintained a healthy weight. The staff team worked well together and supported people to live healthier lives.

Information was known on people’s life histories, preferences and communication needs. People were treated with kindness, empathy and compassion and staff respected their privacy and responded to people’s immediate needs. Staff were positive about the support they received from the leadership team. However, not everyone felt happy with how people were supported to maintain their personal appearance. People told us their choices were sometimes affected by whether staff were available to help them.

People’s communication needs were known, and they received the services they needed from other health and social care organisations. People and staff were asked for their views on the quality and safety of the service and their feedback was listened to. Their home was accessible and adapted to their healthcare needs. Advance care planning was in place to help ensure people’s needs would be met in the future. People told us the availability of staff sometimes affected whether they received person-centred care.

The provider was focussed on continuous learning and improvement. The leadership team were viewed as caring and capable and staff felt respected and confident to raise any concerns should they need to. They worked with other health and social care professionals and incorporated their feedback into on-going improvement plans.

Records of people’s health and care needs were up to date and accurate. Leaders had developed systems that monitored the quality and safety of the service well. They reinforced good practice and gave staff clear support and guidance to help the service perform well.