Westwinds Residential Care

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 service met people’s needs.

This is the first assessment for this newly registered service.

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

This service scored 68 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff made sure people were at the centre of their care and treatment choices. However care records did not always support this.

While some people’s care plans included up-to-date person-centred information about them as individuals and their likes and dislikes, some lacked detail. For example, staff used sophisticated methods to communicate effectively with 1 person with significant communication needs. However, these methods were not detailed in their communication care plan. The service had not considered the support of specialist services as their needs increased because of a health condition. When we discussed this with the registered manager, they made a referral straight away to the appropriate team.

The service understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.

Staff understood the importance of working closely with a range of other agencies including GP practices. They worked particularly closely with the district nursing team and CHESS.

One professional visiting the service told us, “We work closely with the home and do regular clinics.”

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

Staff told us they used imagery to assist people to make choices around meals and clothing. The service provided a menu with images of actual meals people could choose from.

We saw staff communicate with people in an appropriate way, speaking clearly and allowing people time to respond, where required. We observed staff using touch and other methods to communicate effectively with 1 person with significant communication needs.

The provider was in the process of setting up a social media page to keep people and their relatives informed of events.

The service made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support.

There was a complaints policy which people could use to raise any issues. We saw examples of compliments received from relatives about activities, meals and home improvements.

Residents and relative’s meetings were being set up in which people would be able to give feedback about the service.

People told us they felt listened to and received good care. One relative told us, “The new [registered manager] is great. I can always talk with them and they always come over for a chat when I visit.” Another relative told us, “I feel involved in decision making. Staff are crystal clear with information for us to make decisions.” Another relative told us, “The new [registered manager] seems lovely. They are very proactive with communication. They have a new energy, new ideas and try to involve family more.”

The service did not always make sure that people could access the care and support they needed when they needed it.

The building did not have a lift and the stairlift in use could not be used safely for people with high mobility needs. This impacted on the care and support people could access. For example, 1 person preferred to have their hair washed in a bath. This was not possible as the bathroom on the floor their room was located was out of service awaiting repair, and the other bathroom was located on the ground floor. This also meant not everyone could access group activities taking place on the ground floor or in the community. The provider was exploring the potential of installing a lift and changing the stairlift to ensure everyone could use it safely when needed. The nominated individual told us, “We would like to resolve the stairlift issue so people living here can have better access and we will be able to accept people with higher mobility needs.”

The service had systems to ensure people had regular access to medical professionals. For example, specialist health professionals visited the service regularly to review people’s health needs.

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.

Staff and managers expressed a commitment to ensuring people did not face discrimination and had equal opportunities. Staff had received equality and diversity training.

People we spoke with were confident staff understood and respected their needs.

We discussed with the registered manager the need to ensure people’s sexual, cultural and religious needs were fully recorded in their care plans.

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.

Care plans included information about people’s end-of-life preferences. Advanced decisions were in place, where appropriate.

One professional visiting the service told us, “The home gave good end of life care to a person we were involved in. They had a good relationship with the person’s relatives.”