We visited Waterloo House on 27 June 2012. Our visit was unannounced which meant no one who lived or worked there knew we were coming.During our visit to the home we watched to see what life was like for people who were living at Waterloo House. We spent time talking with six people who live at the home, three visiting relatives and five members of staff. We also spoke with the manager, deputy manager and area manager for Alpha Health Care Limited. We looked at some of the records kept to support staff in providing the correct care and also at medicines and management records.
People that use the service at Waterloo House have dementia and therefore not everyone was able to tell us about their experiences. To help us to understand the experiences people have we used our SOFI (Short Observational Framework for Inspection) tool. SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.
We saw that staff knew people at the home well and spoke with them in a friendly, respectful way. Throughout the day we noticed that staff were prompt to come to people who were upset or restless and spoke with them using a calm, reassuring tone of voice. We observed that people sought out the company of members of staff and it was evident from people's body language and facial expression that they were comfortable with them.
The people we spoke with were positive about their experiences of living at the home and the care they received. People told us that they were 'very happy here" and 'I am looked after very well, thank you.'
The relatives we met told us they were happy with the quality of the care their family members received. They spoke highly of the staff and described them as kind and caring. One person said, 'I am more than satisfied with the care my relative receives here. I am here most days and I am always made welcome by the staff.'
Staff were motivated, caring and positive about working in the home They demonstrated a sound understanding of the needs of the people they were supporting. Staff spoken with told us that they received regular supervision to monitor their care practices and had access to training which kept their skills up to date.