Background to this inspection
Updated
10 April 2020
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
Two inspectors carried out the inspection of the care home on 6 February 2020. One inspector carried out the inspection of the home care service on 13 February 2020.
Service and service type
Wey Valley House is a ‘care home’ and a domiciliary care agency, which provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as 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 registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
The inspection of the care home was unannounced. The inspection of the home care element of the service was announced.
Before the inspection
We reviewed the evidence we had about the service. This included any notifications of significant events, such as serious injuries or safeguarding referrals. Notifications are information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.
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.
During the inspection
We spoke with eight people who lived at the care home, three relatives and two visiting professionals. We also spoke with nine staff, including the chef, care staff, activities staff and the registered manager. We visited one person receiving the home care service and spoke to two others and three relatives by telephone. We received feedback from five home care staff via email.
We looked at care records for five people at the home, including their assessments, care plans and risk assessments. We read minutes of staff meetings and residents’ and relatives’ meetings. We checked five staff recruitment files, medicines management and recording, accident and incident records, quality monitoring checks and audits.
After the inspection
The provider sent us further supporting evidence by email.
Updated
10 April 2020
Wey Valley House is a care home without nursing for up to 26 older people and a home care service for people living in their own homes in the local community. There were 22 people living in the care home at the time of our inspection. Twenty-five people were receiving support from the homecare service, 17 of whom received personal care.
People’s experience of using this service:
People received their care from kind and compassionate staff who knew them well. There was a friendly, inclusive atmosphere in the home, which relatives and professionals told us benefited the people who lived there.
People had access to a wide range of activities and outings and had opportunities to access their local community. People’s friends and families were made welcome and were encouraged to be involved in the life of the home.
People enjoyed the food at the home. They were encouraged to contribute to the menu and their feedback was listened to.
Staff supported people in a way which maintained their dignity and respected people’s decisions about their care. People were encouraged and supported to maintain their independence.
People were supported to maintain good health and to access healthcare services when they needed them. Staff worked well with other professionals to ensure people’s needs were met. Risks were assessed and managed effectively. Medicines were managed safely.
Staff had the induction and training they needed to carry out their roles. The provider sourced additional training if necessary to ensure staff had the skills to provide people’s care. Staff had opportunities to discuss their performance and training needs through regular supervision with their managers.
There were enough staff available to keep people safe and meet their needs. Staff attended safeguarding training and understood their role in protecting people from harm. The provider’s recruitment procedures helped ensure only suitable staff were employed.
People’s care was provided in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
The management team maintained an effective oversight of the service, which ensured people’s care was well-planned and delivered. The provider’s quality monitoring systems ensured that key aspects of the service were checked and audited regularly.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
At the last inspection the service was rated Good (published 2 September 2017).
Why we inspected:
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor intelligence 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.