Archived: Westwards House Residential Care Home

Updated 6 September 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 carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Westwards House Residential Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager is legally responsible, with the provider, for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. The provider was overseeing the management of the service and was applying to us to be the registered manager of the home.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we held about the service including notifications the provider had sent us of significant incidents that had happened in the home.

Due to technical problems, the provider was not able to complete a Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all the information we held to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We spoke with seven people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of the care team, two ancillary staff and the provider. We also spoke with a healthcare professional who supported people and observed how staff interacted with people.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment, training and supervision. We also looked at records related to how the service was managed.

After the inspection

We contacted two people’s relatives to gather their feedback about the service.

Updated 6 September 2019

About the service

Westwards House Residential Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to 16 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. Accommodation is provided in one adapted building.

The provider is registered to provide accommodation for up to 19 people in the home. However, at the time of the inspection, the provider would accommodate a maximum of 17 people.

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

People were safe and protected from harm and abuse. There were enough staff to support people. The provider carried out checks on new staff to ensure they were suitable to work in the home. The staff gave people the support they needed to take their medicines. People received their medicines safely and as their doctors had prescribed.

The staff were skilled and competent to provide people’s care. People enjoyed the meals provided. The staff supported people to see their doctors as they needed. The staff gave people choices about their lives and care and respected the decisions people made. People’s rights were protected. 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.

The staff treated people in a kind and caring way. People enjoyed spending time with and laughing and joking with the staff. The staff protected people’s privacy and dignity and supported people to maintain their independence.

The provider planned people’s care to meet their needs and take account of their choices. People could see their families and friends as they wished. People knew how they could raise concerns about the service provided. The staff worked with appropriate services to ensure people received the care they needed as they reached the end of life.

People told us this was a good service and said it was a good place to live. People said the atmosphere was “homely” and told us this was important to them. People knew the provider and were confident approaching her as they wished. The provider monitored the quality of the service and identified areas which could be improved. She was arranging improvements to the environment and range of activities provided.

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 21 January 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.