Wandsworth Common Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.

This is the first assessment for this newly re-registered service.

This key question has been rated Good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices and they decided, in partnership with people, how to respond to any relevant changes in people’s needs.

People told us staff treated them as individuals and they received consistently good, person-centred care and support from staff who were familiar with their needs, preferences and daily routines.

Care records contained personalised information about people’s unique strengths, likes and dislikes, and how they preferred staff to meet their care needs and wishes. Staff demonstrated good awareness of people’s individual needs and preferences. Staff were familiar with the term ‘person-centred’ and what this meant in terms of supporting people living at the care home.

The service had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice.

People were encouraged and supported to raise safety concerns with the provider. Managers and staff understood the importance of reporting safety concerns and learning lessons when things went wrong.

Systems were in place to support staff to report and record safety concerns and events when these arose. Managers investigated safety concerns and events and used the learning from these to support staff to continually improve their practice, reduce risk and keep people safe.

The service supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs.

The provider ensured people were given information in a way they could understand.

People told us they were provided with accurate and up-to-date information in formats that we tailored to their individual communication needs.

Information about people’s communication needs, and preferences had been identified and was included in their care plan. Managers were aware of their responsibility to meet peoples communication needs and make information accessible. Managers and staff confirmed they could supply people with information about the service in accessible formats as and when this was requested. For example, the providers complaints procedure could be made available in a variety of different formats, including large print, audio and different language versions.

The service had a proactive and positive culture of safety, based on openness and honesty. They listened to concerns about safety and investigated and reported safety events. Lessons were learnt to continually identify and embed good practice.

People were encouraged and supported to raise safety concerns with the provider. Managers and staff understood the importance of reporting safety concerns and learning lessons when things went wrong.

Systems were in place to support staff to report and record safety concerns and events when these arose. Managers investigated safety concerns and events and used the learning from these to support staff to continually improve their practice, reduce risk and keep people safe.

The service made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it.

People received care and support from staff according to their individual assessed needs and wishes. People had access to external health care and social care professionals as and when needed. Staff understood people had a right to receive the care and support that met their specific individual needs. People told us they were able to pursue leisure activities they enjoyed. A relative told us, “It is an animated place. There is usually a gentle buzz in the downstairs lounge, and plenty of events, activities, and concerts to add extra stimulation and interest.” Another relative added, “The activities team are excellent and there are plenty of social activities available to my [family members].There are plenty of social activities she enjoys to participate in including, the bi-weekly performances, the daily exercise sessions, and weekly hairdresser and manicurist visits.My [family member] is encouraged to take part but never forced.” Activity coordinators and the rest of the staff team all helped plan and deliver appropriate activities and events that people had expressed a wish to participate in. Weekly activity calendars indicated people could choose to take part in a variety of meaningful activities every day if they wished. During our inspection we observed the activities coordinator host a memory game and a live concert with a visiting guest singer performed in the main communal lounge which was very well attended by people living in the care home and visiting guests. To prevent people who were bed-bound becoming socially isolated, the activities coordinators offered these individuals regular one-to-one support, which included hand massages or listening to their favourite music.

The registered manager also told us how they have a 6 week program of inviting nursery and infant children to the home, involving activities between the residents and children. The registered manager reported this intergenerational interaction has had a huge positive effect on residents mental health and wellbeing.

In addition, the service actively encouraged residents to invite family members to join them for meals to maintain social connection, the service has various areas some of which cater for private dining within the home. The registered manager gave a recent example of catering for a residents milestone birthday utilising a private dining room on site.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this.

People were engaged and supported by staff to be included and have the same opportunity as others to receive the care and support of their choice. A relative told us, “You can request female-only carers if that’s what your family member chooses to have.” Staff had received equality and diversity training and understood people had a right to be treated equally and fairly, and to receive care and support that met their specific needs. For example, managers and staff confirmed people had the right to choose the gender of staff who provided their intimate personal care.

The registered manager told us how they worked closely with the local charities in targeting minority groups within the community such as the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender community. They explained that they invite members of the older LGBTQ+ community into the home and provide a safe space to socialise, they also arrange for speakers to present at these events. This was a good example of how the home integrated previously isolated residents back into a community.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life.

People nearing the end of their life were supported to have a comfortable and dignified death. People’s wishes for their end of life care, including their spiritual and cultural wishes, were discussed, and recorded in their advanced end of life care plan. This ensured staff were aware of people’s wishes and that people would have dignity, comfort, and respect at the end of their life. The care home maintained close links with a local GP surgery, hospice, and district nurses to ensure people who had died at the home had experienced dignified and comfortable end of life care. Staff had received end of life care training.