7 June 2022
During an inspection looking at part of the service
About the service
Wellwick House is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care. The service was supporting six people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to six people who have a learning disability and who may be living with autism.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support
• People were supported by staff to pursue their interests and to take part in activities within the local community. However, there were occasions where there were not always enough staff to ensure people could get out as planned and agreed.
• People did not receive their medicines as they should.
• The service is a large house which enables people living there to access the local community and its amenities. The premises did not feel unfriendly, intimidating or institutionalised.
• People were able to use communal areas as they wished and to have privacy for themselves if they chose to be alone.
• People had a choice about their living environment and were able to personalise their bedrooms.
• Staff enabled people to access healthcare provision and services as needed.
• Staff communicated with people in ways that met their needs despite not having received formal training in specific communication language programmes such as Makaton or Picture Exchange Communication System [PECS].
Right Care
• Risks to people’s safety were not always mitigated to ensure people were kept safe. Not all staff used Personal Protective Equipment [PPE] effectively, although this improved on the second day of inspection.
There was a risk people may not always receive good quality care and support as staff had not received specialist training relating to the needs of the people they supported or formal supervision.
• People received care and support that was kind and caring. Staff protected people’s right to privacy.
• Staff understood how to protect people from harm and abuse. However, where internal investigations were completed, improvements were required to ensure these were robust.
• People’s care plans reflected their needs and the level of support to be required by staff. Relatives confirmed they had been involved with their family member’s care plan and were aware of the information recorded. Improvements were required to ensure people's end of life care plans were more robust.
Right culture
• The service’s quality assurance, monitoring and oversight arrangements were not robust and required improvement.
• Not all staff felt valued and supported.
• Staff were not aware of the ethos and values of the provider or the principles of 'Right support, Right Care and Right Culture'.
• Staff were responsive to people’s needs.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating
This service was newly registered with us in July 2020 and this is the service’s first inspection.
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection to assess that the service is applying the principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.
We have identified breaches in relation to risk and medicines management, staff training, supervision and the provider's governance arrangements at this inspection. We have made a recommendation about recruitment practices.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.