• Care Home
  • Care home

Westlands

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

Oliver Street, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV21 2EX (01788) 576604

Provided and run by:
WCS Care Group Limited

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 22 March 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors 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.

Service and service type

Westlands is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Westlands is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was an experienced registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

The first day of our inspection was unannounced. On arrival we found there was an outbreak of an infectious disease (COVID-19), and so limited our inspection activities on site due to the outbreak. We informed the registered manager we would return for a second day to complete our inspection visit.

Inspection activity started on 04 January 2023 and ended on 23 January 2023. We visited the location's service on 04 and 11 January 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We looked at the information we had received from relatives and people who used the service. We asked the local authority and Healthwatch for any information they had which would aid our inspection. Local authorities, together with other agencies may have responsibility for funding people who use the service and monitoring its quality. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

The provider had been asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 1 person who used the service and 11 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We carried out observations on all 3 households within Westlands to assess people’s experiences of living there. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We spoke with 12 members of staff including a team leader, members of the housekeeping team, the registered manager, the care manager, a care co-ordinator and a quality assurance manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 6 people's care records and/or medication records. A variety of documents relating to the management of the service, including policies, training records, maintenance records, 2 recruitment fil

Overall inspection

Requires improvement

Updated 22 March 2023

About the service

Westlands is a care home providing accommodation with personal care for up to 41 people. The home is purpose-built accommodation, providing care and support to people across three floors. At the time of our inspection visit there were 35 people living at the home.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

There were enough staff to provide safe care to people, however, we received feedback from relatives and staff that people sometimes waited to receive personal care due to staffing levels. The provider had developed new systems to reduce the amount of agency staff usage and increase permanent staffing at Westlands. Relatives told us personal hygiene standards needed to be improved.

Communication between staff at Westlands and people’s relatives needed to be improved. Care records did not always show when people refused care and support.

Staff understood their role in safeguarding people. Risks to people’s health and wellbeing had been identified, assessed and managed. The provider’s checks helped ensure medicines management followed best practice.

People’s needs were assessed before they moved to the home to ensure staff had the appropriate skills to meet those needs. Staff received regular training to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. People’s healthcare needs were monitored, and they were referred to external healthcare professionals to maintain their health and wellbeing. People were encouraged to eat a healthy and balanced diet and their appetites and weight were monitored.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The registered manager was experienced and worked with the provider to develop and maintain systems and processes for reviewing the quality of the care provided. Any issues identified were pulled into a 'home improvement plan'. The provider worked with other organisations and healthcare professionals to improve outcomes for people.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was good (published February 2020). The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received from people about infection control and staffing concerns at the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.