Westlake

Westlake is a care home registered to provide nursing and residential care and accommodation for 63 people with various health conditions, including dementia and diabetes. There were 53 people living at the service on the day of our inspection. Westlake is a large purpose built care home located in Horsham, West Sussex.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were happy with the care they received, felt relaxed with staff and told us they were treated with kindness. They said they felt safe, were well supported and there were sufficient staff to care for them.

Our own observations supported this, and we saw friendly relationships had developed between people and staff. A relative told us, “This is a very happy home; We knew the moment we walked through the door that it would be a safe place and that’s why we chose it”.

People enjoyed an independent lifestyle and told us their needs were met. They enjoyed the food, drink and activities that took place daily. One person told us, “I have just come back here after being in hospital and I couldn’t wait to get back. Everybody was so welcoming. It is good to be home again. The staff are wonderful here”. A visitor said, “Mum has put on weight since coming here and enjoys all her food. They have a good choice of food at each meal”.

People felt the service was homely and welcoming to them and their visitors. One person told us, “I came for a trial run for a few weeks and chose to stay here. The staff are very kind, and my daughter is made welcome when she comes. The food and care is excellent”.

People told us they thought the service was well managed and they enjoyed living there. A visitor told us, “We knew immediately we walked in here that it was the right place for mum, and we didn’t look at any more places. We made a good choice as she is very happy here and the staff are excellent”.

Staff had received training considered essential by the provider. It was clear from observing the care delivered and the feedback people and staff gave us, that they knew the best way to care for people in line with their needs and preferences. A member of staff told us, “I’ve had extra training, as I am now a senior”.

The provider had systems of quality assurance to measure and monitor the standard of the service and drive improvement. These systems also supported people to stay safe by assessing and mitigating risks, ensuring that people were cared for in a person centred way and that the provider learned from any mistakes. Our own observations and the feedback we received supported this. People received high quality care that met their needs and improved their wellbeing from dedicated and enthusiastic staff. A member of staff told us, “I’m proud to work here. We get to know the residents very well and we are all happy”.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 20 December 2016).

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

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the intelligence we receive about this home and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated Good.

Westlake provides nursing care and accommodation for up to 61 people. On the day of our inspection there were 52 older people at the home, some who were living with dementia. The home is spread over two floors with a passenger lift, communal lounges, dining room and gardens.

Westlake has a registered manager who has been in post for many years. However at the time of the inspection the registered manager was on long term leave. 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. The provider had ensured that suitable management arrangements were in place during the absence of the registered manager. The person in charge was the care manager who had worked at the home for many years and was also a registered nurse.

People told us they felt safe living at the home. Comments from people included “Safe, why wouldn’t I feel safe. There is always someone around to help me if I need it and I can call my bell in my room and they come to me”, “I feel safe, I’ve no reason not to. Actually safer than in my own home”. People were protected from the risk of abuse because staff understood how to identify and report it. Staff had access to guidance to help them identify abuse and respond in line with the providers policy and procedures if it occurred. One member of staff told us “Anything I notice which is untoward I would report straight away and know it would be dealt with”.

The provider had arrangements in place for the safe ordering, administration, storage and disposal of medicines. People were supported to get their medicine when they needed it. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to health care services.

Staff considered peoples capacity using the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) as guidance. People’s capacity to make decisions had been assessed. Staff observed the key principles of the MCA in their day to day work checking with people that they were happy for them to undertake care tasks before they proceeded. One person told us “They don’t do anything without consent. Flu injections, we had a choice about whether to have it or not”. The provider was meeting the requirements of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

Staff supported people to eat and drink and they were given time to eat at their own pace. People’s nutritional needs were met and people reported that they had a good choice of food and drink. One person told us “We have three courses, it really is wonderful food”. Staff were patient and polite, supported people to maintain their dignity and were respectful of their right to privacy. People had access to and could choose suitable leisure and social activities.

People and relatives found staff to be kind and caring and the care they received was good. Comments included “The staff are very nice. They listen to you and attend to you. What more can you ask” and “Yes they are caring, they are very respectful”.

People were encouraged to express their views and had completed surveys. Feedback received showed people were satisfied overall, and felt staff were friendly and helpful. People and relatives also said they felt listened to and any concerns or issues they raised were addressed. One person told us “We have an administrator and the general manager. There’s always someone to go to”.

Staff felt fully supported by management to undertake their roles. Staff were given training updates, supervision and development opportunities. For example staff were offered the opportunity to undertake additional training and development courses to increase their understanding of the needs of people. One member of staff told us “Yes we get offered lots of training which includes E-learning. I am doing my level 2 diploma in Health and Social Care and being supported by my assessor”.

There was a calm and relaxed atmosphere at the home. People, staff and relatives found the management team approachable and professional. One person told us “I think it is well managed, we’ve just got a new manager. We have resident’s meetings once a month”. A member of staff told us “The manager is fully involved in the home and works with us when needed. I think they are supportive and listen to us”. The registered manager and provider carried out regular audits in order to monitor the quality of the home and plan improvements.

We found that people's care was based on an individual needs assessment and planned and delivered to ensure their safety and welfare. A person told us "they are very good and really look after us very well". We found that staff demonstrated a good understanding of people's needs and preferences.

Records showed that people's medicines were safely managed in the home. We saw that people were given information about their medicines and we found that staff administering medication were competent to do so.

A visiting GP told us "there is a very high standard of care - this is a good team". We found that the provider carried out the relevant checks when they employed staff and staff we spoke with had the relevant knowledge, qualifications, skills and experience to carry out their role effectively.

We found that the provider had an effective system in place to deal with comments and complaints and this was monitored. Staff demonstrated that they understood how to support people in making complaints and people told us they were able to raise their concerns and they were listened to.

We found people views were taken into account in the way in which they were cared for. A relative told us ' I can't say anything bad about this place, dad is well looked after.' We found staff respected people's privacy and dignity.

The provider told us people were assessed prior to coming to the home to live. Information from the assessment was used to develop people's care plans. We reviewed the care records and saw care and treatment was delivered and planned in relation to peoples care plans. We saw evidence of the multi disciplinary approach to the care people received.

Staff told us they were supported and received appropriate training to deliver care to meet people's needs.

The provider told us people were protected from the risk of abuse as staff were trained to recognise abuse and could raise an alert if they needed to. We noticed safety information was prominently displayed around the home. People had access to safeguarding information if there were concerns

The provider told us that feedback from the people and their representatives was used to assess and monitor the quality of the service delivered.