About the service Woodlands House is a residential home providing nursing and/or personal care to 49 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can accommodate and support up to 64 people in a single building compromising of five separate wings, each with their own separate adapted facilities. The service specialises in providing care and support to mainly older people living with dementia.
People’s experience of using this service
At the last inspection the service was rated good overall, but requires improvement for the one key question, ‘Is the service responsive?’ This was because people were not always supported to take part in social and physical activities that reflected their interests and needs. At this inspection we found the new provider had made improvements to the way the service planned and organised social activities for people living in the care home. The rating for this key question has therefore improved from requires improvement to good.
People lived in a suitably adapted and reasonably well decorated care home that met their needs. However, we found signage to help people identify rooms that were important to them was either missing or inconsistently used throughout the various units. We discussed this communication issue with the senior managers at the time of our inspection who advised us the new provider planned to use easy to understand pictorial signage and dementia friendly memory boxes as part of their agreed programme to completely refurbish the care home by the end of 2019. Progress made by the provider to achieve this stated aim will be assessed at their next inspection.
People remained positive about the quality of the care and support they received from this service. People typically described the care home and the staff who worked there as 'good'. This was summed up by one person who told us, “I think this is a lovely place to live. The managers and staff are all fabulous.”
People were cared for by staff who knew how to keep them safe and protect them from avoidable harm. People received their medicines safely and as prescribed. Sufficient numbers of staff whose suitability to work in a residential care home for people living with dementia had been checked. The premises were clean and staff followed relevant national guidelines regarding the prevention and control of infection.
People continued to receive care and support from well-trained and supported staff. 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 offered well-balanced meals that meet their dietary needs and wishes, and were supported to stay healthy and well.
People continued to be cared for and supported by staff who were kind and compassionate. People were treated equally and had their human rights and diversity respected. People were encouraged to make decisions about the care and support they received and have their choices respected. People's privacy was respected and their dignity maintained. People were supported to be as independent as they could and wanted to be.
People received personalised care that was tailored to their individual needs and wishes. People’s communication needs and preferences continued to be respected and met. People were aware of the providers’ complaints policy and how to raise any concerns or complaints they may have. When people were nearing the end of their life, they continued to receive compassionate and supportive palliative care.
People, their relatives and staff all spoke positively about the leadership approach of the registered manager. The provider involved people and staff in the running of the care home. The provider was keen to continuously improve the service and recognised the importance of learning lessons when things went wrong. The provider worked in close partnership with community professionals and groups.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at the last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 8 June 2017). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed. This service was reregistered with us on 4 April 2019 and therefore this inspection represents their first. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.
Why we inspected
This inspection was carried out in part to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection of this service.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Woodlands House 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.