Woodlands

Updated 26 May 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector 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. This person made phone calls to relatives to ask their views on the service.

Service and service type

Woodlands is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager who had applied to be registered with the Care Quality Commission.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We considered all the information we received from and about the service since the last inspection. This included notifications, concerns received and monthly reports to CQC from the provider on the progress they were making with their service improvement plan.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

We contacted relatives of people living in the home to ask their views on the quality of care provided at the home. We spoke with the relatives of six people living in the home

We spoke with two visiting health and social care professionals from the local authority. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with six staff. These were the manager, owner/provider, two senior care workers, the chef and the activities coordinator. We also met eight of the nine people living in the home. We were able to get some feedback from five people. Some people could not tell us their views on the home so we carried out observations of a mealtime and people’s wellbeing during the daily routine in the home. 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 reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and risk assessments and five people’s medicines records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including training, policies and procedures were reviewed.

We looked around the building including the garden.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with three staff members on the phone and we looked at further records. We received feedback from three professionals who have had recent contact with the home.

Updated 26 May 2021

About the service

Woodlands is a care home providing personal care for up to 20 older people. At the time of the inspection there were nine people living in the home. The service is an adapted building with a lift.

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

There were enough staff on duty to meet people's needs. Staff were kind and caring and people said they liked the home. Relatives spoke positively about the staff team and how caring they were.

People received their medicines safely as prescribed. There were suitable systems and processes in place to manage medicines safely. There were risk assessments in place which detailed risks to people's safety and guided staff on how to keep people safe.

There were suitable processes in place to prevent and control infection at the service, through regular COVID-19 testing, cleaning and safe visiting precautions. Safeguarding processes were in place to help safeguard people from abuse. Staff knew how to respond in emergency situations such as fire or ill health.

A new manager had been appointed since the last inspection and they had made many changes in the home which improved the quality of care provided. Staff and relatives of people living in the home spoke highly of the new manager and improvements they had made.

The provider had refurbished the home since the last inspection. The refurbishment had made the environment safer, more homely and more dementia friendly.

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 manager and provider engaged well with health and care professionals who told us they acted on their advice.

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 inadequate (published 22 January 2021 and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of most of those regulations.

At this inspection the rating has improved to requires improvement.

This service has been in Special Measures since October 2020. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 23 October 2020. Multiple breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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

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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Since the last inspection the provider and manager have made the necessary improvements. We were assured that people received safe care at this inspection.

Follow up

We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.