The Care Quality Commission

Archived: West Bank Residential Home

Walford Road, Ross On Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 7HB (01989) 562741

Provided and run by:
Buckland Care Limited

All Inspections

16 May 2012

During a routine inspection

Many of the people who were living at West Bank had dementia and therefore not everyone was able to tell us about their experiences. To help us to understand people's experiences, we used our SOFI (Short Observational Framework for Inspection) tool. The SOFI tool allows us to spend time watching what is going on in a service and helps us to record how people spend their time, the type of support they get and whether they have positive experiences. Some people using the service were able to tell us about their experiences and we also spoke with staff and health professionals.

People living at the home told us 'I'm very contented' and 'I can't fault anything'. One person said 'happy, friendly, you feel that you're in your own home' and described the staff as 'very welcoming, very helpful'.

Everyone told us that staff were respectful and kind. When we spent time in the lounges, we saw that staff were taking time to make sure that people understood what was being said. People told us that they received good care and support from the staff. Some people said that they had noticed improvements. One person described the care as 'more professional'.

Staff were able to give us good information about people's care needs, and had a good knowledge of the needs of the people they were supporting. They showed a caring and sensitive approach to the people they were supporting. Some people did not receive the care and support that they needed as promptly as necessary.

Some people told us that they were 'never bored' and 'there's always something going on'. One person said 'there's too much time spent watching TV'. People told us that they would like to spend more time in the garden.

The service had changed the management and handling of medicines. This had resulted in improvements and meant that there were appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines.

People told us that there were always enough staff to meet their needs. One person said 'there's always someone around if I need them' and another told us 'I can't fault anything' and 'the staff are brilliant'.

We were concerned that the home's internal monitoring systems had not identified the shortfalls that we found in the care records.

13 December 2011

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We had previously visited the home in September 2011 and had required the home to make some improvements. The home had sent us an action plan which had told us that they would be compliant with Regulations by the end of November 2011. The purpose of our visit was to check whether or not the required improvements had been made.

Many of the people who live at West Bank have dementia and therefore not everyone was able to tell us about their experiences. To help us to understand people's experiences, we used our SOFI (Short Observational Framework for Inspection) tool. The SOFI tool allows us to spend time watching what is going on in a service and helps us to record how people spend their time, the type of support they get and whether they have positive experiences. Some people using the service were able to tell us about their experiences and we also spoke with staff and health professionals.

We found that there had been significant improvements in almost all the areas where we had had concerns. There were some areas which needed further improvements, and we have identified these throughout the report.

The home was making sure that people's privacy and dignity were respected. There had been improvements in the planning and delivery of care, but the home was not always ensuring that people's needs were fully met.

The home was making sure that people were supported to have enough to eat and drink.

The home was working to ensure that people were protected from the risk of neglect or abuse. People told us that they felt safe at the home.

People were not fully protected against the risks associated with the unsafe use and management of medicines by means of making appropriate arrangements for the obtaining, recording, handling, using, safe keeping, dispensing, safe administration and disposal of medicines.

The home was working to ensure that staff have the skills and knowledge they need to support the people who live at the home.

14 September 2011

During an inspection in response to concerns

Many of the people who live at West Bank have dementia and therefore not everyone was able to tell us about their experiences. To help us to understand people's experiences, we used our SOFI (Short Observational Framework for Inspection) tool. The SOFI tool allows us to spend time watching what is going on in a service and helps us to record how people spend their time, the type of support they get and whether they have positive experiences. Some people using the service were able to tell us about their experiences and we also spoke with staff and health professionals.

People were positive about the staff at the home. One person said 'they're lovely to me' and another told us 'they do work really hard'. We saw that staff were generally kind and caring in the way they supported people.

We saw instances where people's privacy and dignity were not always protected or promoted at the home.

People's care needs were not always being met at the home. The home were not ensuring that staff were aware of people's needs and how they should be met.

People told us that they enjoyed the food at the home, but there was evidence that some people were not supported to have enough to eat and drink.

The home was not doing all it could to ensure that people were protected from the risk of abuse or neglect.

Medication was not being managed safely, and people did not always receive their medication as prescribed.

Some people's needs were not being met promptly, because there were not enough staff on duty at all times. Staff had not received the training they need to carry out their roles.