This comprehensive inspection took place on 7 and 8 June 2017 and was unannounced. This meant the provider and staff did not know we would be visiting.

This was the first inspection of Maple Lodge Care Home since it was purchased by Burlington Care Limited.

Maple Lodge provides residential and nursing care for up to 60 people. At the time of our inspection 46 people were using the service. The service is divided into three separate units for residential, nursing and dementia care.

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. At the time of our inspection a manager had been appointed to the home and had applied to CQC to register. Immediately following the inspection the manager’s application to become the registered manager was approved by CQC.

We found people had in place fluid charts to ensure they did not become dehydrated. Although we did not observe anyone at risk of dehydration there was no record of the amounts people needed to drink each day. The daily amounts recorded were not totalled. The manager explained they had recently put the fluid charts in place and agreed to take immediate action to improve them.

We found people lived in an environment where regular checks were carried out to keep them safe. These included checks to reduce fire risks in the home.

We saw that the provider had a staffing structure in place with rotas which showed consistent levels of staffing. We spoke with the manager about the staffing levels on a night time. Although we found there were no serious night time incidents relating to a lack of staffing we recommended the provider reviews staffing levels as a precautionary measure.

People’s medicine was stored securely. All the staff who administered people's medicines had received training to ensure they could do this safely. People received their medicines in a safe way.

Staff had been trained in how to safeguard vulnerable adults. They told us they felt confident to approach the manager about any concerns they may have.

Recruitment procedures were in place and had been followed to ensure staff employed in the service were suitable for their roles. Staff employed in the service had all the required employment background checks, security checks and references taken up. They received appropriate training, supervision and appraisal to carry out their roles effectively.

The provider had started to make changes to the environment to ensure people with dementia type conditions were able to maintain their independence. We recommended the provider and the manager use best practice guidelines to further develop the home into a dementia friendly environment.

Staff were described to us as friendly and caring by relatives and people who used the service. We observed staff treated people with respect. Personal care was carried out behind closed doors to maintain people’s privacy and dignity.

The service adhered to the principles of the Mental Capacity Act. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.

Complaints were taken seriously by the manager. These were documented, investigated and responses were provided to the complainants.

The service was well-led. The new manager spoke with us about the home being at low ebb when Burlington Care Limited bought the home. They were aware staff had been subject to a succession of managers and felt they had to work to gain the trust of the staff. Staff spoke to us in positive terms about the manager and told us they had made improvements to the home.

Quality checks and surveys were carried out by the managers to monitor the service. This had led to actions being taken and