We carried out a review of the data available to us about Wild Acres Care Home on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Wild Acres Care Home, you can give feedback on this service.
The registered manager was committed to providing the best quality of life for people living at Wild Acres, whilst ensuring they were safe. To this end they had adopted a risk aware approach to support people to maintain contact with loved ones and those important to them, which had a significant impact on their health and wellbeing.
Visitors were effectively prevented from catching and spreading infection by staff who followed the provider’s infection prevention and control (IPC) procedures. All visits were subject to the provider’s clearly defined visiting policy. This document is reviewed monthly by the registered manager or more frequently if required. For example, at the time of inspection the registered manager had updated the policy to consider the recent Government guidance in relation to Tier1-3, Medium to Very High Alerts.
The Registered Manager had developed comprehensive visiting risk assessment plans for relevant parties (Next of kin/Representatives/Friends). These identified risks to the visitors, the service and explored innovative solutions to minimise these to support people to remain in contact.
All admissions to the home were carefully considered and planned to ensure people were admitted safely. Staff confirmed people had tested negative for COVID-19 before they were discharged from hospital. New admissions and people returning from hospital were supported to isolate in their room for 14 days, in line with guidance.
Staff used personal protective equipment (PPE) in line with guidance, implementing training provided by the home’s IPC lead, to safeguard people using the service and staff.
Staff consistently engaged in conversation with people, to reiterate the reason for masks being worn. This provided reassurance to people when they were disorientated and confused.
Consistently thorough hygiene practice, robustly overseen by the designated cleaning and decontamination lead, promoted and maintained safety in the home.
Wild Acres Care Home provides accommodation and personal care for older adults, some of whom experience living with dementia. The home is a single storey building, with some bedrooms having en-suite facilities. It can provide accommodation and personal care for up to twenty-six people. On the day of the inspection twenty-five people were using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service provided exceptionally responsive, person-centred support to people which consistently achieved outstanding outcomes for people. Staff provided excellent consistency and continuity of care which had a major impact on people’s quality of life.
Staff consistently went the extra mile to find out what people had done in the past to enable people to carry out person-centred activities which enriched the quality of their lives. People were supported to maintain relationships that mattered to them which protected them from the risk of social isolation and loneliness. The service worked closely with healthcare professionals and provided outstanding end of life care, which ensured people experienced a comfortable, dignified and pain-free death.
People were supported by a stable core staff group who were kind, caring and inspired by the registered manager to deliver high quality, personalised care.
People experienced safe care. Risks to people were identified and managed safely by staff who understood their responsibilities to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm. Enough staff with the required skills and knowledge provided people with safe care. People received their medicines safely, as prescribed, from staff who had completed the required training and had their competency assessed to do so.
High standards of cleanliness and hygiene were maintained throughout the home, which reduced the risk of infection. Staff followed the required standards of food safety and hygiene, when preparing, serving and handling food.
Accidents and incidents were reviewed, and the registered manager took action to prevent a recurrence.
People received effective care and support which consistently achieved successful outcomes and promoted a good quality of life. Staff felt valued and well supported by the management team, through a system of effective training, competency assessment, supervision and appraisal. Staff consistently delivered care in accordance with people’s support plans and recognised best practice.
People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain good health.
The service worked well with other organisations to ensure prompt referrals to healthcare services when people’s needs changed. 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.Staff treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. People and relatives consistently told us staff made them feel valued and listened to. Staff supported people to express their views by involving them in developing their care plans and making decisions about their care. Staff responded in a timely and caring way when people experience physical pain, discomfort or emotional distress.
Staff identified the communication needs of people with a disability or sensory loss and effectively shared this information with others when required. People knew how to make a complaint and were confident the provider would address their concerns.
The service was well-led, with the registered manager providing clear and direct leadership and a safe environment, which had cultivated a positive, open and empowering culture.
Rating at last inspection:
The last rating for this service was Good (report published 5 January 2017).
Why we inspected:
This was a planned comprehensive inspection, based on the previous rating.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk