Windy Ridge Care Home

Updated 29 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

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors on 25 June 2019 and one inspector returned to complete the inspection on 1 July 2019.

Service and service type

Windy Ridge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as 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 had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service, four relatives and a visitor from a local support organisation about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, senior care workers, care workers and the chef. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, accidents and incidents and health and safety management.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found in relation to water safety and received further feedback from a second health care professional.

Updated 29 August 2019

About the service

Windy Ridge Care Home is a nursing home, providing personal and nursing care to older people, some of whom are living with dementia, aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 21 people.

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

People and relatives consistently told us the registered manager and staff were excellent. The home was exceptionally well run. They said it was ‘One of a kind” and said there was “No place like it.”

There was an extremely strong focus on person centred care which provided exceptional health outcomes for people. The use of nationally recognised monitoring tools helped provide an early warning to staff, for example, of possible infection, such as sepsis. Relatives told us the care was excellent and the staff provided “Immaculate care” and “Amazing care”.

The home specialised in assessing and supporting people who were hard to place due to their advanced dementia, complex behaviours and mental health needs, or where previous placements had ended due to their increasing complex needs.

Staff received excellent support with their learning and development. A broad range of key and specific training was delivered to staff in house and tailored to the needs of people living in the home. External progression opportunities and personal development were encouraged and funded by the provider.

Staff maintained an extremely strong focus on the importance of supporting people to eat and drink a varied diet which met their specific nutritional needs and preferences and achieved positive health outcomes. One relative told us, “Within weeks [of moving to the home] her bed sores had gone and she was eating. I’m not sure how they did it!”

We observed consistently kind and compassionate care from staff who were observant and focussed on people’s wellbeing. A visitor told us staff “Just seemed to know exactly what to say.” Respect for people’s privacy, dignity and independence was embedded within the culture of the home. A staff member told us, “This is the residents’ home. We’re the guests”.

Relatives consistently told us they were extremely happy with the way they and their family members were treated. One relative told us, “Other homes are not like this one. I would highly recommend it. I wouldn’t mind booking my place!” People were encouraged to maintain important relationships and staff facilitated this by providing a welcoming environment and making private space for people to receive their visitors.

The registered manager had developed exceptionally strong working relationships with other agencies and local organisations to maximise opportunities for staff development and develop initiatives for continuous improvement of care delivery.

Provider oversight was embedded in the governance of the home. There was a strong culture of joint ownership within the whole staff team and senior management to achieve exceptional outcomes for people through effective team work, feedback, governance and improvement.

People were safeguarded from abuse. Staff understood how to identify abuse and how to report any concerns. Medicines were well managed. People received their medicines as prescribed by staff who were training and competent to do so.

Staff recruitment procedures were robust and there were sufficient staff deployed to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.

Risks to people had been identified and actions taken to minimise any risks. The home was clean and tidy. Staff used appropriate personal protective equipment appropriately. Incidents and accidents were investigated and lessons learnt to reduce the risk of further occurrences.

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.

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 August 2016)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.