Westcott House Nursing Home

Updated 24 April 2021

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.

As part of CQC's response to the coronavirus pandemic we are looking at the preparedness of care homes in relation to infection prevention and control. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 15 April 2021 and was announced.

Updated 24 April 2021

About the service

Westcott House is a residential home providing personal and nursing care for up to sixty older people with a past or present mental illness including people living with dementia. People’s accommodation is provided in several different areas including a purpose-built single storey building as an annexe. There are individual lounges and dining areas provided for people as well as a separate day activity centre. On the day of inspection there were 57 people living at the home.

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

People were kept safe by staff who knew about safeguarding people from harm. There was enough staff to ensure safety was not compromised and people’s complex needs were met. Improvements had been made, since the last inspection, with infection control practices and with increased staff knowledge of the risks people faced.

People’s relatives told us of the safe care they saw and the reassurance they felt. One said, “We don’t hear enough about the good news, about good care, places like Westcott House.”

Staff provided a good standard of care for people, working well as a team and with good communication. Action was taken promptly to identify any new health issues people had and to get specialist support. New roles in the staff team had been developed, proving effective in ensuring all staff were kept up to date. People had enough to eat and drink and this was well monitored. Some new adaptations had been made in building to help people living with dementia.

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. Policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were cared for by staff who were both professional and kind. Staff showed compassion in their interactions with people and knew what each person needed. Dignity and respect were shown to people regardless of their abilities and needs. Relatives were involved and welcomed at the home.

People were cared for in a personal way. Important information was recorded about people, their preferences, interests, communication and physical needs. People had access to activities that suited them, and staff engaged, one to one, with those who needed this, including people nursed in their room. Relatives told us of the responsive approach by staff and the registered manager. There was a complaints policy and process in place and recording of complaints and responses had been improved. People received personalised care at the end of their life.

The service was well led by a very experienced and caring registered manager. Since the last inspection they had sought advice and brought in support to ensure that improvements were made. People’s care plans were being reviewed and changed over to a new electronic format. There were new staff roles and delegation of responsibility which supported the delivery of good quality care and teamwork. There was good governance in place so that any issues were dealt with quickly.

The registered manager had extended the reach and involvement of the service with local improvement projects and research. People benefitted from good relationships with a wide range of professionals and services in the local community.

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 June 2018).

There were no breaches of regulations, but we made three recommendations. At this inspection we found improvements had been made.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating and to check whether improvements had been made.

You can read the report from our previous comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Westcott House Nursing Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk