Astral Lodge Residential Home

“Who the service is for”

“The service supports older people and people living with dementia.”

“Key findings”

“We carried out this assessment from 3 August until the 13 August 2026. This service was previously rated as good. We carried out this assessment to confirm whether the rating of good remains accurate. This report does not provide detailed information on areas where we found practice continues to meet a good standard. Instead, our findings focus on any areas where the service needs to improve or where we found exceptional practice.”

“People consistently told us they were happy and felt safe living at the service. One person told us, “This is a safe place, all the staff are kind and when you press your buzzer they come within minutes.” People were supported by enough staff who had the skills and knowledge to support them safely. New staff underwent a thorough recruitment process and had a full induction. Staff received training appropriate to their role which was regularly updated. People were given their medicines as prescribed and where needed medicines were reviewed by the GP practice. Staff had their competency checked to support people with medicines and the registered manager completed regular audits to ensure medicines were supported safely.”

“People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse by staff who understood their responsibilities to report concerns. One member of staff told us, “Safeguarding is the protection of residents from harm or abuse, to make sure they are alright and do not get hurt. If I had concerns, I would tell a senior or the manager and can inform the local authority directly.” Records we saw showed the registered manager reported safeguarding concerns to the local authority safeguarding team and worked with them to ensure people were safe.”

“There was a consistent staff team at the service, and we observed there were enough staff to support people promptly. A relative told us, “They do not have a high turnover of staff, and all the staff really care.” Staff told us they felt they had enough staff each shift to support people safely and spend time with them. Relatives and people were very complimentary of the staff team and registered manager. One relative said, “The [registered manager name] sets a really good example and everything follows through.””

“Staff told us they had regular meetings to discuss people’s care needs and the running of the service with the registered manager. The registered manager completed observations of staff practice and engaged in regular supervision sessions with staff to help with their professional development. Staff told us they had a good team and that the registered manager was very supportive. One member of staff said, “We worked together really well as a team, and the manager has been amazingly supportive to me when I have needed it.””

“Care was person centred and assessments of people’s needs were completed before they started using the service. We saw from care plans and risk assessments we reviewed staff had all the information they needed to support people safely. Each person had a named key worker who worked closely with them to ensure their needs could be met as they wished. Before people came to the service an assessment of their needs was completed, and they or their family had an opportunity to look around the service.”

“Staff had systems in place to monitor people’s health needs. The registered manager worked closely with the local GP practice and district nursing team to ensure people’s health needs were attended to promptly. A health professional shared with us, “The staff have excellent communication skills.…”