Archived: West House

Updated 27 February 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 care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 12 January 2021 and was announced.

Updated 27 February 2021

About the service

West House is a residential care home providing personal care to 23 people at the time of the inspection. The service can accommodate up to 26 people in one adapted building over three floors. The new provider has the same ownership structure but has a new management team. Since the last inspection in September 2018, improvements to the service have been made.

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

People and their relatives described the staff as caring, patient and kind. People were treated with respect and their dignity maintained. Staff were attentive to the needs of people and provided person-centred care. Professionals told us the service had remarkably improved under the guidance of the new registered manager.

The mealtime experience was positive. Tables were attractively laid, and people were offered a choice where they wished to dine. The chef was knowledgeable and experienced and spoke passionately about providing nutritional meals to meet the needs and requirements of the individual. The three-course meal served at lunchtime included homemade soup and looked appetising. Specific dietary needs were catered for such as cultural preferences and pureed meals.

Infection control procedures were followed. We witnessed staff using PPE appropriately, hand-washing and using alcohol gel to reduce the risk of infection. The building had been recently redecorated and the environment looked clean and tidy.

Activities were well organised by an activities co-ordinator who had recently undertaken an accredited course relating to specific activities to meet the needs of the people living at the service. The activities co-ordinator knew the people well and understood individual ability. They skilfully included each person in the activity in a positive way.

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.

Safe medicine administration was demonstrated. Medicine stock and records checked were found to be correct, demonstrating that people received their medicines as prescribed.

There was a safe staff recruitment process in place, which included an induction programme, with staff new to care undertaking the Care Certificate. Staff received full training with additional specific courses relevant to their job roles. All staff received supervisions and appraisals.

The registered manager was proactive and led by example, working closely with the deputy manager to provide a strong management team. Staff told us they felt supported and valued. Audits were undertaken and analysed with an action plan. The provider visited the home regularly and held meetings with the management team.

Regular staff meetings were held where staff could contribute and raise ideas, as well as an opportunity to share ‘lessons learned’. The management and staff worked as a team.

Resident and relative meetings were conducted, and minutes demonstrated that people were consulted about aspects of the service and their care. Notice boards showed photographs of a variety of activities that had been organised. The service was working closely with the community to gain further involvement with recreational activities and was linking with relatives and friends through the private social media.

A newsletter had been introduced which informed about the changes and progress of the service. The service was recognised by management and staff as being the people’s home and people were invited to ‘have their say’.

The areas of concern raised in the previous inspection were being addressed and progress was seen during our visit. There had been a positive outcome from the local authority inspection and any areas for improvement had been completed. The registered manager was enthusiastic about continually improving the standards of the service.

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

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 21 September 2018). Since this rating was awarded, the registered provider of the service has changed. Th e new provider registered with us on 12 December 2018. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating and as this is a new provider.

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.