• Care Home
  • Care home

Woodcote Hall

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

Woodcote, Newport, Shropshire, TF10 9BW (01952) 691383

Provided and run by:
Woodcote Hall Limited

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile

All Inspections

22 March 2023

During an inspection looking at part of the service

About the service

Woodcote Hall is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 56 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom are living with dementia, in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were 36 people using the service.

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

This was a targeted inspection that considered staffing and recruitment. Based on our inspection, we found people were supported by a sufficient number of staff to meet their needs safely but senior staff did not always have sufficient time to complete documentation. Historical inductions had not always been completed thoroughly but the manager had identified this and had redone them to ensure staff were competent to meet people’s needs safely. People were supported by staff who were recruited safely. Disclosure and barring service checks were undertaken and satisfactory references received prior to staff commencing employment. Staff were well trained and were supported to ensure they were competent and skilled to meet people’s needs safely.

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 requires improvement (published 9 August 2022) and there were breaches of regulation. A further targeted inspection was undertaken and found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations but no rating was given (published 11 October 2022).

Why we inspected

We undertook this targeted inspection to check on a specific concern we had about staffing and recruitment. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains requires improvement.

We use targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.

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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

31 August 2022

During an inspection looking at part of the service

About the service

Woodcote Hall is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 56 people. The service provides support to people living with dementia and mental health conditions in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were 26 people using the service.

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

This was a targeted inspection that considered infection prevention and control, the management of risks and the governance of the home. Based on our inspection of these areas, the provider was no longer in breach of regulations relating to these areas.

People were kept safe from the risk of cross infection because the provider had embedded current government guidance relating to infection, prevention and control for COVID-19. Staff were wearing face masks and people had COVID-19 risk assessments in place which detailed any individual vulnerabilities they may have.

Systems were updated to ensure accident and incidents records were reviewed and action was taken to help mitigate identified risks to people. The provider had improved their governance systems to improve their oversight of the home. This helped to keep people safe.

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 requires improvement (published 9 August 2022) and there were breaches of regulation. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this targeted inspection to check whether the warning notices we previously served in relation to Regulation 12 and 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 had been met. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains requires improvement.

We use targeted inspections to follow up on warning notices or to check concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.

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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

14 June 2022

During an inspection looking at part of the service

About the service

Woodcote Hall is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 56 people. The service provides support to people living with dementia and mental health conditions in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were 36 people using the service.

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

At our last inspection, improvements were made to the monitoring of people’s risks and preventing and controlling infection. However, we found concerns during this inspection and further improvements were required to help ensure people were protected from known risks to their health and safety and, to ensure improvements could be sustained.

People were not protected from risk of cross infection as staff were not wearing masks, and there was no risk assessment in place prior to them removing the use of masks. People did not always have required risk assessments in place for known risks, and where risk assessments were in place, these were not always being followed.

People’s needs and choices were not always assessed and where they were, staff did not always follow their care plan. The service had some adaptations to meet people’s needs, however further adaptations were required to meet people’s needs.

Improvements made at our last inspection had not been completely embedded and sustained. This meant people’s safety and wellbeing was placed at risk. Whilst the provider had identified areas for improvement, some concerns we found had not been highlighted and action had not been taken to mitigate risks to people.

Improvements had been made and people’s medicines were now managed safely. Improvements were made to the process in place to ensure lessons were learnt when things went wrong, although we found one incident had missed management oversight. People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse, and they were supported by enough staff.

Improvements were made since our last inspection and 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 staff who were trained to meet their needs. People were supported to eat and drink enough to ensure a healthy diet. The provider worked in partnership with professionals and organisations to meet people’s needs.

Staff and relatives, we spoke with confirmed the manager was approachable. People’s relatives confirmed they were kept informed of any updates or changes to their loved one’s care.

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 14 July 2021) and there were breaches of regulation. At this inspection we found the provider remained in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the monitoring of people’s risks. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, effective and well led sections of this full report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

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

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will return to the home to ensure they have complied with the enforcement actions taken by us. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Special Measures

The overall rating for this service is ‘Requires improvement’. However, one Key Question for this service has remained as ‘Inadequate’ and the service remains in ‘special measures’. This means we will keep the service under review and, if we do not propose to cancel the provider’s registration, we will re-inspect within 6 months to check for significant improvements.

If the provider has not made enough improvement within this timeframe. And there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall rating, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures. This will mean we will begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. This will usually lead to cancellation of their registration or to varying the conditions the registration.

For adult social care services, the maximum time for being in special measures will usually be no more than 12 months. If the service has demonstrated improvements when we inspect it. And it is no longer rated as inadequate for any of the five key questions it will no longer be in special measures.

21 July 2021

During an inspection looking at part of the service

About the service

Woodcote Hall is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to a maximum of 56 people.

Woodcote Hall is a large building set in a rural location. The home has mainly single rooms, but a number of shared rooms are available. People have access to communal and outside spaces. The home supports a high number of people living with dementia and mental health conditions.

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

This was a targeted inspection which considered risk management, infection prevention and control and the governance of the home. Based on our inspection of these areas, we judge the provider has met the warning notices we issued in respect of these areas.

The assessment of risk to people’s health, safety and welfare had been reviewed and updated to help ensure they were kept safe.

People were kept safe from the risk of cross infection because staff followed current best practice. The provider had embedded current government guidance relating to infection, prevention and control for COVID-19 into all areas of the home.

The provider had improved their governance systems to improve their oversight of the home. This helped to keep people safe.

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 inadequate (published 14 July 2021).

Why we inspected

We undertook this targeted inspection to check whether the Warning Notice we previously served in relation to Regulation 12 and 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 had been met. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains inadequate.

CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.

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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

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.

26 May 2021

During a routine inspection

About the service

Woodcote Hall is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 46 people at the time of our inspection. The service can support up to 56 people over the age of 18 years.

Woodcote Hall is a large building set in a rural location. The home has mainly single rooms, but a number of shared rooms are available. The home supports a high number of people living with dementia and mental health conditions.

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

Known risks to people's health had not always been assessed and planned for and people were not always kept safe from the risk of avoidable harm. Where incidents had happened, lessons had not been learnt because the provider’s procedures were not followed. People’s prescribed topical medicines were not always stored safely.

The provider had made improvements since our previous inspection in reducing the risk of cross infection within the home. However, some further improvement was needed in this area to ensure risks of cross infection were prevented.

People were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not always support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. The systems in the home were not used effectively. People’s ability to make their own decisions had been poorly assessed. However, the provider was aware and was taking steps to address this.

The completion of staff training needed improvement to ensure staff had the skills and knowledge to support people’s specific health conditions. The provider had started to work in partnership with a range of other health professionals and agencies to ensure people’s needs were able to be met. Referrals to health care professionals were not always made in a timely way to maintain people's health and wellbeing.

Work was ongoing in updating people’s care plans to ensure they met people’s needs. People did not have end of life plans in place, so their wishes may not be known about how they wanted to be cared for at the end of their lives.

Governance arrangements had failed to ensure risk was safely managed, or that people’s rights were promoted when making decisions about their care or that their care records were accurate, legible and met their specific needs. The provider had placed other managers from within their organisation to take over the day to day management of the home.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had been recruited safely. Visitors were screened for symptoms of COVID-19 before entering the home. Visits had recommenced following the changes in Government guidelines to enable people to see their loved ones. The home environment was clean. Domestic staff had designated areas they cleaned throughout their shift. People and staff had access to COVID-19 testing.

People were supported by staff in a way that was caring, friendly and kind. Our observations showed staff knew people living at the home well and they shared positive interactions with them.

People were able to engage and be involved in social and leisure activities in the communal areas of the home. Complaints were responded to in line with the provider’s policy.

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 provider changed the legal entity of Woodcote Hall in April 2019. No changes were made to the corporate provider of the home. The last comprehensive inspection rating for the service before their change of legal entity was requires improvement (published 18/01/2019).

Our previous inspection of Woodcote Hall was a focused inspection on 20 and 26 April 2021. We inspected but did not rate the service. The provider was in breach of regulations relating to managing people’s safety, consent and the governance of the home.

Following our previous inspection on 20 and 26 April 2021, we served the provider and registered manager with a warning notice for regulation 12 and regulation 17. We serve a warning notice to tell the registered persons they were not complying with a condition of registration or a regulation. We told the registered persons we required them to be compliant by 7 June 2021. Because this inspection took place on 26 May 2021, we did not inspect the service against the warning notice. We will return at a later date to confirm compliance with the warning notice.

The provider completed an action plan after the previous inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection enough improvement had not been made and sustained and the provider was still in breach of regulations. However, we acknowledge the short timeframe between the previous inspection and this one. The provider’s improvements to the service were yet to be fully implemented and embedded in the culture and practice.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted in part due to an incident at the home and the management of that incident. We also received ongoing concerns from the local authority about failure to identify risks to people’s health and the management of the home. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks by completing a comprehensive inspection.

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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the full report.

The provider has taken action to mitigate risk within the home.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.

We have identified ongoing breaches in relation to the management of risk, consent and the governance of the service.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

The provider has already sent to us an action plan detailing what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will return to the home to ensure they have complied with enforcement actions taken by us in serving two Warning Notices on the provider. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Special Measures

The overall rating for this service is ‘Inadequate’ and the service is therefore in ‘special measures’. This means we will keep the service under review and, if we do not propose to cancel the provider’s registration, we will re-inspect within 6 months to check for significant improvements.

If the provider has not made enough improvement within this timeframe. And there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall rating, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures. This will mean we will begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. This will usually lead to cancellation of their registration or to varying the conditions the registration.

For adult social care services, the maximum time for being in special measures will usually be no more than 12 months. If the service has demonstrated improvements when we inspect it. And it is no longer rated as inadequate for any of the five key questions it will no longer be in special measures.

20 April 2021

During an inspection looking at part of the service

About the service

Woodcote Hall is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 47 people at the time of our inspection. The service can support up to 56 people over the age of 18 years.

Woodcote Hall is a large building set in a rural location. The home has mainly single rooms, but a number of shared rooms are available. The home supports a high number of people living with dementia and mental health conditions.

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

People were not kept safe from the risk of cross infection. The risks associated with people’s care were not always assessed or monitored. The deployment of staff compromised people’s safety at times.

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. However, the systems in the home were not used effectively and so did not support this practice.

People’s care files often had out of date information which made it difficult to see their current care needs. Some people were kept waiting for their meals. Not all staff completed their required training.

The oversight of the provider’s policies and systems continued to need improvement. Staff did not always complete their responsibilities fully but this was not identified by the leadership and management at the home. The provider continued to fail to make sure required improvements were made and sustained at the home.

The provider had systems in place to review accidents and incidents. People received their medicines when they needed them. Checks were completed on potential new staff to make sure they were suitable to work with people living at the home.

Staff knew the people who lived at Woodcote Hall and many had worked there for a number of years. People were comfortable and settled around staff, with many enjoying the communal areas of the home.

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

Rating at last inspection

We completed a focused inspection on 30/07/2020 where we just looked at the key questions of safe and well-led. This report was published on 2/09/2020.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted due to concerns received about people’s safety and the culture within the home. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only.

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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We have found evidence the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, effective and well-led sections of this full report.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

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

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to the management of risk, consent and the quality and governance of the service at this inspection.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

30 July 2020

During an inspection looking at part of the service

About the service

Woodcote Hall is a residential care home providing personal care to 49 people aged 65 and over. The service can support up to 56 people. Woodcote Hall is a large building set in a rural location. The home has mainly single rooms, but a number of shared rooms are available. The home supports a high number of people living with dementia.

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

People were protected from the risk of harm. Staff were knowledgeable of safeguarding procedures and told us they felt confident reporting concerns. Lessons were learnt when things went wrong which ensured people remained safe within their environment.

Some of the providers policies were not being fully met and some of the contingency plans to manage the risk of Covid-19 needed to be formalised. Action was taken to address this at the time of inspection.

Risks to people’s safety were assessed in a person-centred way. This ensured they were not unnecessarily restricted. Good infection control practice was observed, and staff were complying with the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) guidance.

There was sufficient staff to meet people’s needs and staff were recruited following safe recruitment procedures. People received their medicines when they needed them from staff who had been trained and, deemed competent in the safe administration of medicine.

People were engaged by the provider and their feedback was sourced to drive improvements. We saw evidence of continuous learning. The provider worked in partnership with others but suggested they would like to improve relationships with some agencies.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating of this service was requires improvement. At this inspection the rating remains the same (published 17 January 2019).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part by notification of a specific incident which staff had reported to the registered manager. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident but explored the culture within the service to ensure it was not a closed culture.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Woodcote Hall 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.