- Care home
Windward House
Assessment report published 23 June 2025
Contents
Ratings
Our view of the service
Date of assessment: 9 to 20 December 2024. We carried out this assessment in response to concerns that had been raised. Windward House is a residential care home providing support for up to 42 older people living with physical care needs and some with dementia. There were 30 people living in the care home at the time of this assessment. We assessed 21 quality statements from the key questions of safe, effective and well Led. This assessment showed areas of good practice, as well as areas that needed to improve. Our overall rating for the service is Requires Improvement.
We found 5 breaches of regulations in relation to safeguarding, safe and effective staffing, safe care and treatment, consent, and the planning of care together with good governance.
The service was not always protecting people from some unsafe practice. However, the new management of the service was working to prevent such occurrences in future. Medicines were not always stored, administered and managed safely. The service was not always ensuring people received safe and effective care and treatment. However, most care practice was good quality.
Staff had not received regular supervision and new supervision sessions for all staff had not yet taken place.
Many people using the service had significant dementia care needs and needed support to make some or all decisions about their care.
The service had new service management since November 2024.
People had not been assessed under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. At our last inspection in 2019, the service was under different ownership, and we found the management was requires improvement. At this assessment we found the continued staff culture was not delivering good quality care. However, new leaders were now leading by example in good practice.
Some assessment within care planning did not accurately reflect peoples’ current needs. The new service managers were working hard to update care planning.
In instances where CQC have decided to take civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this information on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded. We have also asked the provider for an action plan.
People's experience of this service
During the assessment, we received mixed feedback from people who used the service and their relatives. Some people said they were happy with their care, but others said the quality of the service had declined until November 2024, though it was now improving again. We received comments from relatives who reported poor practice taking place. Another relative did not feel their family member was being well supported with their personal care. They did not feel the services management had been listening and responding to the issues they had raised. We heard from the new management that issues raised by relatives and residents were now being addressed promptly.
Some people could not directly tell us about their experience. We used observation to assess whether they received good care. On our first visit to the service, we saw only good interactions between staff and residents, but on our second visit we saw some poor practice by staff that was disrespectful to people. None of the people spoken with said they felt unsafe. Most comments were that people received good quality care from staff who treated them well. A person told us, “Some of them (the staff) are very kind, none have ever been rude to me”.
People felt staff were responsive to their care needs and when they needed assistance, this was usually acted upon promptly. People told us they had flexibility within the home, such as when they went to bed or woke up. People who had dementia had been restricted within units of the building but since November 2024 were able to move around more freely while being kept safe.
People appreciated that changes were being made within the service. For example, people were now being encouraged to use the dining room to eat their meals together with others, rather than staying in their rooms on their own for all their meals. One person said, “its really nice going downstairs for food now”.