Background to this inspection
Updated
10 March 2020
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 two inspectors.
Service and service type
The Westgate is a ‘care home’. People in care services 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 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. 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 three people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the registered manager, senior service manager, senior care workers, care workers, activities staff and the domestic staff. We also spoke to a visiting GP. 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 five people’s care records and multiple medicines records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service.
Updated
10 March 2020
About the service
The Westgate is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 47 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 50 people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and their loved ones told us they felt safe at the service and had peace of mind. We identified some shortfalls relating to the amount of information in people’s risk assessments, and one missing tablet in one person’s medicines. However, there was no impact to people of these shortfalls and the management team had already identified these as areas which required improvement. Actions plans were in place and additional training had been arranged. One recently recruited staff member had information missing from their recruitment file, this was resolved during the inspection.
People were supported by staff who were kind and compassionate to both them and their loved ones. Staff took time to get to know people well and used this knowledge to reassure them when they were distressed or confused. People’s loved ones could visit at any time and could take part in activities which were taking place. Dedicated activities staff ensured everyone had things to do, including those who stayed in their room by choice or due to their health.
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. People were encouraged and supported to have a voice in planning their care and letting staff know what was important to them. People were supported to have food and drink they enjoyed and to stay healthy with the support of staff and health professionals. People had planned their end of life care.
People, relatives and staff told us their views were requested and valued by the management team. Actions were taken to address any concerns raised or to respond to complaints. Learning from this and accidents and incidents was shared. There was a focus on continual improvement at the service, which had led to an increase in nursing and staffing levels and improvements to the environment. The environment was designed to meet the needs of people living with dementia and information was available in a range of formats.
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 requires improvement (published 21 February 2019).
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.