The Woodlands

Updated 25 May 2021

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at the preparedness of care homes in relation to infection prevention and control. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 17 May 2021 and was announced.

Updated 25 May 2021

About the service

The Woodlands is a residential care home providing personal care to people with a learning disability and/or autism. The care home accommodates six people in one adapted building. Six people were living at the service at the time of our inspection.

Services for people with learning disabilities and or autism are supported

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

The service was a small service which was registered for the support of up to six people. Six people were using the service. This is in line with current best practice guidance. There were deliberately no identifying signs, intercom, cameras, industrial bins or anything else outside to indicate it was a care home. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.

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

Audit systems were not always effective to check the quality of the service. Appropriate audit documentation was not always available to ensure consistency of audits.

Systems were in place to protect people from abuse and staff understood them. Processes were in place to ensure staff were recruited safely. Risk was managed and reviewed to ensure people were kept safe.

People’s needs and choices were assessed and promoted effectively. Staff were skilled and had the knowledge to deliver effective care. Staff worked well together and with healthcare professionals to effectively meet people’s needs.

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.

People were supported by kind and caring staff who displayed empathy and compassion. People and their relatives were encouraged to be involved in making decisions about their care. People were supported by staff who respected their privacy and dignity and promoted their independence.

People were supported by staff who understood their preferences and individual communication needs.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 14 October 2016). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the Well Led section of this full report.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the Well Led section of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Woodlands on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.