The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has raised the rating of Maple Lodge from inadequate to good and removed it from special measures, following an inspection in September.
The home is run by Maple Health UK Limited and provides personal care for up to five people with a learning disability and autistic people. There were four people living in the home during this inspection.
CQC inspected to follow up on the progress of improvements it told leaders to make at a previous inspection, which found concerns around people’s safety and the management of the service. In particular, some people had been restrained unsafely or unlawfully in the home. At this inspection, CQC found the service had made sufficient improvements and they are no longer in breach of the regulations.
CQC has raised the home’s rating from inadequate to good for safe. CQC has also raised its rating from requires improvement to good for effective, and from inadequate to requires improvement for well-led. Inspectors again rated it good for caring and responsive.
Hazel Roberts, CQC deputy director of Adult Social Care in the east of England, said:
“When we inspected Maple Lodge we were very pleased to find a kind and well-trained staff team supporting people to live their lives the way they wanted to.
“We found a warm and welcoming atmosphere in the home, which had been redecorated to make it clean and comfortable. While people living in the home couldn’t tell us about their experiences verbally, we saw they were comfortable around staff, who spoke with them kindly and treated them with respect.
“Whenever possible, staff supported people to make decisions about both their care plans and their day-to-day lives, such as what they wanted to wear, eat, or do that day. They knew people well and included personalised observations in their care records, such as how people liked to help with the daily chores and tasks around the house.
“When people lacked the mental capacity to make particular decisions, staff made those decisions with their loved ones and representatives. These decisions were in people’s best interests, restricted them as little as possible, and respected their human rights.
“While all staff had been trained to restrain people safely if they were a risk to themselves or others, some had never had to do this in practice, because they knew how to de-escalate and support people in other ways.
“The registered manager had established an honest safety culture in which they sought out and listened to feedback and made changes when things hadn’t gone right.
“Everyone working at Maple Lodge should be proud of the improvements they’ve achieved for their residents. We’ve shared our findings with them and will continue to monitor the service to ensure these improvements are embedded and sustained.”
Inspectors found:
- The home thoroughly recorded how people preferred to communicate, ensuring staff could meet their preferences.
- Staff encouraged and supported people to enjoy their hobbies and interests.
- Staff supported people to spend time with their families and access their local community.
- Staff helped people live healthy lives. For example, they supported people to go swimming or to dance classes to encourage their physical wellbeing.
- Staff responded quickly and sensitively if people were in distress or discomfort.
- The home managed people’s medicines safely. Staff stored them safely and administered them correctly.
- The home worked closely with health professionals and supported people to access health services when needed with minimal distress or anxiety.
- Leaders assigned key workers to people, who led on their care and support and got to know them faster as a result.
However:
- The manager of the service was very experienced and competent but was also supporting two other Maple Health UK Limited services, which stretched their support thin.