Westwood Lodge Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence.

At our last inspection we rated this key question requires improvement. At this inspection the rating has changed to good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.

This service scored 67 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Staff at the service made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them. A person commented, “I get a review every couple of months.” Staff said there were effective systems in place to assess and monitor people’s needs. This included handover meetings between incoming and outgoing staff on shift and staff meetings. Staff members’ comments included, “There is good communication from seniors, I feel supported by the seniors, they are good” and “Handover is good for communicating any changes.”

Staff planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards. The catering staff understood people’s needs and how to promote a healthy diet. However, improvements were needed to the recording and monitoring of people’s nutritional and fluid intake, where their nutrition and hydration were being monitored. The provider addressed this immediately. Improvements were needed to people’s dining experience to promote their nutrition and to make sure they ate and drank well and to inform them of what was available to eat. Menus were not available and white boards which displayed the daily menus were blank or did not advertise the current day’s menu to keep people informed. Menus had been reviewed but we received mixed feedback about the amount and variety of food. We observed staff, although they were present in the dining room on the first floor, were not always attentive to respond to people’s request for assistance at the lunchtime meal. We were told by the provider this would be addressed. A person commented, “The food is not bad, I eat it. I don’t mind the soups and stews” and “I miss the cooked breakfast every day.”

Staff at the service worked well across teams and services to support people to ensure they received timely, seamless and consistent care. They made timely referrals and worked very well with other agencies to ensure people's treatment needs were met. A professional commented, “When I have asked the manager for an assessment, they have done this in a timely fashion and come back to me with reasons why they are able or not able to accommodate someone.”

Staff always supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to fully maximise their independence, choice and control. Staff supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support. Staff worked closely with other professionals and people and relatives told us they were supported to access health care. A staff member commented, “District nurses are involved as needed for named people and we also get the support we need from the mental health team.”

Staff at the service monitored all people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they fully met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves. There was a system of regular review of risk assessments and people's care plans. Reviews were carried out regularly with people to ensure people's support and outcomes were monitored and in line with their wishes. A person commented, “My care plans are reviewed every 2 to 3 months, I am wanting to get a flat.”

Staff told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. People’s consent to care and support was respected by staff. There were areas in some care records that required improvement to ensure mental capacity assessments were completed when necessary, and that all relevant information was included and documented to the guidance of the Mental Capacity Act or the Mental Health Act.