18 September 2017
During a routine inspection
Woodland Court offers accommodation for older people requiring care and support to live independently. Individual flats or apartments provide independent living, while communal spaces are available with the opportunity to be part of a community. The registered provider is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to provide personal care for people living at Woodland Court. 36 people living at Woodland Court were receiving personal care services at the time of this inspection.
The service had a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People told us they felt safe. Staff had received safeguarding training in order to keep people safe and staff demonstrated a good understanding of what to do if they were concerned anyone was at risk of abuse. There were robust recruitment practices in place, which meant staff had been recruited safely. Risks to people had been assessed and reduced where possible.
Accidents and incidents were appropriately documented and records we inspected, and our discussions with staff, showed staff were aware of actions to take in an emergency. People had pendants they could press to request assistance and people told us staff responded quickly to such requests.
Staff were trained to manage and administer medicines to people and their competency was regularly assessed. People told us they had confidence in staff to assist them safely with medicines. Most of the records in relation to medicines we inspected were fully completed, however, some medication administration records were not fully completed and the registered manager took immediate action to address this.
People received effective care and support to meet their needs. People told us they felt staff had the necessary skills and training to provide effective care and support. Staff told us they felt supported and we saw staff had received an appropriate induction into their roles as well as ongoing training, support and supervision.
Care and support was provided in line with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. We saw from the care files we reviewed, consent had been sought and obtained from people, prior to their care and support being provided. 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.
People we spoke with told us staff were caring. Staff were enthusiastic and were motivated to provide good quality care. Staff explained to us how they respected people’s privacy and dignity and the people we spoke with confirmed this happened. People were encouraged to maintain their independence.
Care and support plans were detailed and personalised, taking into account people’s choices and preferences and people’s needs were reviewed regularly. People were involved in their care planning and told us they could make their own choices. People told us the service was responsive and flexible to their needs.
Regular audits and quality assurance checks took place, in order to drive improvement within the service and feedback was given to staff in order to improve practice. Staff told us they felt supported. Complaints were managed effectively and responded to appropriately.