• Care Home
  • Care home

West Heanton - Residential Home

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Buckland Filleigh, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5PJ (01409) 281754

Provided and run by:
West Heanton Ltd

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 2 August 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was conducted by one inspector and an Expert by Experience on the first day, and one inspector on the second day. It was unannounced. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type:

West Heanton Residential Home is a ‘care home’ for a maximum of 23 people. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

What we did:

Prior to the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service and notifications we had received. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

We spoke with 10 people receiving a service, two relative and 14 members of staff, which included the registered manager. We spent time talking with people and observing the interactions between them and staff.

Some people living at the service were unable to communicate their experience of living at the home in detail with us as they were living with dementia. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people, who could not comment directly on their experience.

We reviewed two people’s care files, three staff files, staff training records and a selection of policies, procedures and records relating to the management of the service. After our visit we sought feedback from health and social care professionals to obtain their views of the service provided to people. Unfortunately, we did not receive any feedback.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 2 August 2019

About the service: West Heanton Residential Home is a ‘care home’ for a maximum of 23 older people. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. At the time of our inspection there were 23 people living at the home.

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

People gave consistently positive feedback about the care provided at West Heanton Residential Home. People commented: “Staff are all very compassionate. I get all het up and can’t seem to relax so I talk about it to the carers and they understand” and “All the carers here are very kind and helpful. In fact, it is a bit like being on holiday here as everyone is so kind. Whatever you need or want they make you feel it is okay to ask. I feel lucky to live here.”

Staff were highly motivated to ensure people received care which was compassionate and kind. The atmosphere in the home was warm and very friendly. People had developed strong relationships with staff, and it was evident that this was an important part of the ethos of the service.

Staff were exceptional at anticipating people's needs. We observed a staff member supporting a lady living with dementia who did not want to be seated. The staff member knew the person used to be a florist. Once the rain stopped they took the lady out to cut some roses in the garden. They then came in doors and on a table in the conservatory had laid out scissors and vases containing water. The lady sat down and filled each vase with a flower arrangement which was then taken and placed on the dining room tables. The lady was clearly so happy to be doing this and felt valued.

People received personalised care and support specific to their needs and preferences. There was an excellent understanding of seeing each person as an individual, with their own social and cultural diversity, values and beliefs.

People were encouraged to socialise, pursue their interests and hobbies and try new things. There was a focus on wellbeing and having a sense of purpose. The organisation, including all staff involved, ensured people had access to as many opportunities as possible to aid their physical and mental health well-being. Activities formed an extremely important part of people’s lives and had a positive impact on their wellbeing.

The home won a best practice award in 2017 run by North Devon Care Homes Team with regard to dementia awareness for staff. Staff dressed up in clothes from the 1940's and went to a local Fairground and Heritage centre to increase their awareness of what it would have been like for people earlier in their lives. As a result, staff are now able to engage more meaningfully with people with an increased understanding of their life experiences. A local celebrity, who champions dementia awareness, came in the evening to give awards to staff nominated by people. There was a Fete with vintage cars all in the 1940's style. This was open to people living in the local community, some of whom had known the people living in West Heanton for many years.

People were supported to have peaceful, comfortable and dignified end of life care in line with national best practice guidance.

The service provided safe care to people. One person commented: “Yes I feel safe, very much so. We have got lovely staff. I used to fall about a lot at home but not so much here.” Measures to manage risk were as least restrictive as possible to protect people’s freedom. People’s rights were protected because the service followed the appropriate legal processes. Medicines were safely managed on people’s behalf.

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.

Care plans were personalised to reflect people’s personal preferences. People’s views and suggestions were taken into account to improve the service. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet. Health and social care professionals were regularly involved in people’s care to ensure they received the care and treatment which was right for them.

There were safe staff recruitment and selection processes in place. People received care and support from staff who were well trained and competent.

People, relatives and staff praised the service and the registered manager. Comments included: “The manager is a lovely bloke. A good manager with a lovely family”; “You can approach (registered manager) any time and I can’t fault the staff or think of anything he could improve on” and “(Registered manager) is a good leader.”

The registered manager had been nominated for the ‘Outstanding Care Awards for Devon and Cornwall 2019.’ As a result, they had successfully become a finalist. The winners were due to be announced on 28 June 2019. The registered manager successfully won a silver award for care home manager of the year.

A number of methods were used to assess the quality and safety of the service people received. For example, various audits and surveys. The service made continuous improvements in response to their findings.

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 (report published in September 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for West Heanton Residential Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

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.