Archived: Woodlands Care Home

Updated 9 January 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This was an unannounced inspection which was undertaken on 23 November 2015 by one inspector.

Before the inspection, we asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We looked at the information we held about the provider and service. This included statutory notifications the registered manager had sent us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. We also received information from the local authority commissioners. Commissioners are people who work to find appropriate care and support services which are funded for by the local authority.

We met with all people who lived at the home and saw the care and support offered to people at different times of the day. We spoke in more depth with three people who lived at the home who were able to tell us how they felt by using a mixture of verbal communication, facial expressions and body language. We also spoke with a relative by telephone.

We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager and two members of staff. We looked at the care and medicine records for three people. We also looked at the records about staffing, training, accidents and the systems the registered manager and provider had in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided.

Updated 9 January 2016

This inspection took place on 23 November 2015 and was unannounced.

The provider of Woodlands Care Home is registered to provide accommodation with personal care for up to nine people. Care and support is provided to people with learning disabilities or with autism. At the time of this inspection seven people lived at the home with one of these people spending a short time at the home known as respite care.

A registered manager was 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 described to us they felt safe and staff treated them well. Staff knew how to identify harm and abuse and how to act to protect people from the risk of harm which included the signs which may confirm someone is being abused. The provider had arrangements in place to show there were sufficient staff with the right skills to meet people’s needs with risks to their safety reduced.

Staff told us their training was up to date. All the staff felt their training and one to one meetings supported and enabled them to deliver care safely and to an appropriate standard. We saw staff understood people’s care and support needs. This helped people to achieve their chosen lifestyles and retain their levels of independence as people were supported to take positive risks so they could achieve their goals.

We saw staff supported people to remain healthy and well. People received their medicines at the right time and in the right way to promote good health. Everyone had a health action plan which supported them in planning, monitoring and reviewing their health care needs. Staff monitored people’s health and shared information effectively to make sure people received advice from external professionals, such as, doctors and dieticians according to their needs. People liked their food which they had chosen and were involved in planning their meals and the times they preferred to eat these.

People were asked for their permission before staff provided care and support so that people were able to consent to their care. Where people were unable to consent to their care because they did not have the mental capacity to do this decisions were made in their best interests. Staff practices meant that people received care and support in the least restrictive way to meet their needs. The registered manager had considered where people may be restricted and had completed applications under the Deprivation of Liberty to make sure any restrictions to people’s liberty were lawfully applied.

People were satisfied staff cared for and supported them in the way they wanted. We saw staff were attentive and caring towards people. Staff used people’s preferred communication to ensure their individual choices were fully respected. Staff knew people well and how best to support them. Staff respected people’s dignity and privacy while they supported people with their needs.

People’s care plans described their needs and abilities and were in easy read formats so that people could be involved in their care planning. Staff were responsive to changes in people’s needs and supported people to follow their own interests.

Staff enjoyed their work and were guided by a registered manager who wanted to ensure staff were motivated to be the best they could be in their work. Staff and people who lived at the home were involved in sharing issues and ideas to make improvements to the garden and home environment. Staff spoke about people who they supported with fondness and there was a shared sense they were all one big family. This was also shared by people who lived at the home.

The registered manager and provider had responsive systems in place to monitor and review people’s experiences and complaints to ensure improvements were made where necessary. The provider visited the home and this gave the registered manager opportunities of discussing plans for further improvements. This also gave the provider the chance to check how well run the services people received were which included the standard of care people received. The registered manager and provider used their quality checking systems to enable improvements to be sought. This helped to support continued improvements so that people received a good quality service at all times.