Archived: Wynfield House Home for the Deaf

Wynfield House Home for the Deaf is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 11 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service specialises in the care of profoundly deaf elderly and infirm people. The service can support up to 19 people in one adapted building.

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

People were protected from the risk of abuse and avoidable harm by staff who understood how to recognise and respond to concerns. People were happy living in the home and felt safe. Risks were well managed. Staff were recruited in a safe way and there were enough staff deployed to meet people's needs. Medicines were managed safely, and staff worked with other healthcare professionals to meet people's health related needs.

People's needs were assessed, and care and support had been planned proactively and in partnership with them. People were provided with a nutritious and varied diet. Staff were suitably trained and received regular supervisions. 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 were positive about the service and said staff were kind and caring. People were treated with dignity and respect and were fully involved in their care planning and delivery. People's right to privacy was upheld. The registered manager provided people with information about local advocacy services, to ensure they could access support to express their views if they needed to.

People received person-centred care which was responsive to their needs. People’s communication needs had been assessed and staff trained to support people with hearing impairment. People were entertained and stimulated by the activities provided for them. People knew how to complain, and felt concerns raised would be listened to and acted upon.

The registered manager worked in partnership with a variety of agencies to ensure people received coordinated care which met their needs. People were happy with how the service was managed. Staff felt well supported by the registered manager. The registered manager and provider completed regular audits and checks, which ensured appropriate levels of quality and safety were maintained at the home.

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 good (published 13 June 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned 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.

At the last inspection the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People who lived at the home told us they felt safe and were happy with their care and liked the staff who looked after them. We observed staff providing support to people throughout our inspection visit. We saw they were kind and patient and supported people in their care safely.

Staff spoken with and records seen confirmed training had been provided to enable them to support and communicate with people who were profoundly deaf. We found staff were knowledgeable about support needs of people in their care.

We found staff had been recruited safely, appropriately trained and supported. They had the skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care and social needs. Staffing levels were observed to be sufficient to meet the needs of people who lived at the home.

We found the service had systems in place to record safeguarding concerns, accidents and incidents and take necessary action as required. Staff had received safeguarding training and understood their responsibilities to report unsafe care or abusive practices.

Risk assessments had been developed to minimise the potential risk of harm to people during the delivery of their care. These had been kept under review and were relevant to the care provided.

We looked around the building and found it had been maintained, was clean and hygienic and a safe place for people to live. We found equipment had been serviced and maintained as required.

We found medication procedures at the home were safe. Staff responsible for the administration of medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required. Medicines were safely kept with appropriate arrangements for storing in place.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

People told us they were happy with the variety and choice of meals available to them. We saw regular snacks and drinks were provided between meals to ensure people received adequate nutrition and hydration.

People had access to healthcare professionals and their healthcare needs were met. We saw the service had responded promptly when people had experienced health problems. A visiting healthcare professional told us the staff who worked at the home were superb and they had no concerns about the care provided at the home.

People who lived at the home had access to advocacy services. This ensured their interests were represented by professionals outside of the service to act on their behalf if needed.

Staff knew people they supported and provided a personalised service in a caring and professional manner. Care plans were organised and had identified the care and support people required. We found they were informative about care people had received.

The service had a complaints procedure which was made available to people on their admission to the home and their relatives. People we spoke with told us they were happy and had no complaints.

The registered manager used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included regular audits and relative surveys to seek their views about the service provided.

During the inspection we were accompanied by a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter. They helped us to communicate with people living at the home. The people we spoke with said they were receiving safe and appropriate care which was meeting their needs. One person said, 'The staff are lovely here, they look after me'. Another person told us they couldn't find fault with anything. They said, 'It's very nice here. It's like home sweet home. I won't say a bad word about anything. The food is nice I love it. We get plenty to eat'.

During our inspection we contacted the Blackpool contracts monitoring team. They told us they currently had no concerns with the service being provided by the home.

We also spoke with Lancashire Fire & Rescue Service. They told us they had issued the home with an action plan when they last undertook an inspection in June 2012.

During the inspection the Inspector was accompanied by a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter. Comments received from the people we spoke with included:

'The staff are very good. They are always helpful and friendly. I have no problems'.

'We have very good meals and I enjoy going on the outings they organise. I like it here'.

'The staff are very nice with me'.

'I have lived here a long time and I am very happy. The staff are kind and patient with me. The routines are relaxed and we get plenty to eat and drink. I really enjoy the meals'.

During our inspection we contacted the Blackpool contracts monitoring team. They told us they currently had no concerns with the service being provided by the home.