Barrington Lodge

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 19 August 2024. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Barrington Lodge is a care home registered to provide personal care and accommodation for up to 38 elderly people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection 35 people were using the service. The assessment started on 8 July 2024. A site visit to gather people’s experiences and observe care practices was carried out on 15 and 24 July 2024. As part of the assessment we looked at 12 quality statements: learning culture, safe systems, safeguarding; involving people to manage risks, safe environments; safe and effective staffing, infection control and medicines. And in Well-led: Shared direction and culture, leadership, freedom to speak up and governance, management and sustainability. We spoke with 9 people’s relatives, the registered manager [also a director], the deputy manager and the second director of the company. People used different ways of communicating, including using vocalisations, facial expressions and body language. We spent time with people, observing their interactions with staff. The assessment was carried out by one inspector, one assessor and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. We visited the home and spoke with six members of staff, the registered manager, the deputy manager and 2 health and social care professionals. We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records, medicines records and four staff files as well as other records relating to how the service was managed. We spoke with 6 people who used the service and 7 relatives of people. The home had a registered manager in post. At the last inspection in March 2022 we rated this service ‘Requires Improvement’ in safe and well-led and ‘Good’ in effective, caring and responsive. We carried out this inspection because we received concerns from a local authority relating to some aspects of the service identified in a recent visit to the home.