Archived: Winters Park Care Home

Winters Park is a residential care home providing care to 41 people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 24 people living there.

The service is a modern, purpose-built home with the majority of accommodation on the ground floor.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People we spoke with were very complimentary about the care they received. Their comments included, “Staff are lovely – they’re all very kind” and “They can’t do enough for us.”

Staff were caring, calm and compassionate towards people. People enjoyed warm and friendly engagement with staff. People said they felt comfortable and safe. They told us, “I feel lucky to have found this place” and “You couldn’t find a better home.”

Risks to people’s safety were assessed and frequently reviewed for any changes. There was clear guidance for staff about how to manage those risks, which included any advice and guidance from other care professionals.

The registered manager held regular meetings with key staff to check individual, person-centred strategies were in place to keep people safe. Monthly clinical risk reports identified any potential health risks to people’s well-being and the actions taken.

The service had acted on lessons learnt from some incidents that had occurred and had put robust measures in place to minimise the risk of these recurring. The service had also learnt from a coronavirus outbreak at the end of last year and were well-prepared to minimise the risk of any future cases.

People told us the home was ‘spotlessly clean’. People said they were very pleased with the different ways the staff had helped them to safely have visits with their relatives again.

Safe infection control and prevention practices were followed. People and staff had regular testing for COVID-19. Staff received training in the appropriate use of PPE. We saw staff followed current government guidance.

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 good (published 16 January 2021).

Why we inspected

We undertook this targeted inspection to check specific concerns we had received about risks to people’s safety not being addressed. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains good.

CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

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.

We found the following examples of good practice.

¿ There were appropriate measures in place to prevent visitors from spreading infection. All visitors had to wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), sanitise their hands, and had their temperature checked prior to entering the home.

¿ Regular testing for Covid-19 was in place for people and the staff team.

¿ People were isolating in their own rooms to prevent any further transmission.

¿ There was PPE at frequent places throughout the home and signage was in place regarding the correct use of PPE. Staff had received appropriate infection prevention and control training.

¿ At the time of this visit, local restrictions on non-essential visiting were in place so alternative measures such as telephone and video calls were being used.

¿ The premises were clean. Additional cleaning was taking place including frequently touched surfaces, such as handrails, and deep cleaning of bedrooms.

We were assured that this service met good infection prevention and control guidelines.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Between the inspection of this service and the publication of this inspection report, the registration has been transferred from Bupa Care Homes Limited to HC-One Oval Limited.

Winters Park is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Winters Park accommodates 41 people, some of whom may be living with dementia, in one adapted building.

There is a registered manager at the service, who was in attendance throughout our inspection visit.

A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

We found that personal records had been stored securely. The records we viewed did not consistently give an accurate account of people’s care and support needs. However, health and social care professionals commented that care records had been completed to a high standard and that staff always appeared warm, welcoming and always engaged well with people living at Winters Park and visitors. People told us that they had been involved in the development of their care plans and staff were able to give us a verbal account of people’s care needs and we observed them supporting people. No one raised any concerns with us about the support they received from staff. Medicines were mostly managed in a safe way. We did observe some poor practices with regards to recording the use of creams and ointments.

We have made a recommendation about keeping written records up to date and accurate.

There were times when staffing levels had not been sufficiently maintained. We received both positive and negative comments about staffing levels. The registered manager was reviewing staffing at the home. Staff had been provided with appropriate training to help keep their skills and knowledge up to date. However, we found that there were limited opportunities for staff to meet regularly with their line manager to discuss their work and performance.

We have made a recommendation about staff support and supervision.

The home was maintained to a good standard and the registered manager was aware of where improvements needed to be made. Refurbishment plans had been put on hold as the service was in the process of being sold to a new provider. People who used the service were able to personalise their own rooms as they chose. The home was clean, tidy and there were no unpleasant odours. Staff were mindful of good practices around the control and prevention of infection.

The home does not normally admit people living with dementia. However, there were some long term people who had developed dementia illness. We have suggested that the provider considers making some environmental adaptations in order to help meet the needs of people living with dementia.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Everyone that we spoke with during our inspection of Winters Park were very complimentary about the staff and the service they received. We did not receive any concerns or complaints about the service during or immediately after our inspection. We noticed that people looked well-groomed and well cared for. Staff approached people in a friendly manner and showed respect for people’s privacy and dignity. A variety of meaningful activities were available at the home and within the local community. People were supported to access health and social care professionals if they wished and family members told us that they were kept up to date if their relative was unwell.

People were generally well supported with their nutritional needs. Where nutritional concerns had been identified, we found that advice from the dietician and speech and language therapist had been sought. However, people who needed help to eat and drink did not always receive the support they needed. This was due to either insufficient numbers of staff on duty or the poor deployment of staff at mealtimes. We have asked the registered manager to review this matter.

There were systems and procedures in place to help ensure people living at the home were protected against the risks of harm or abuse and of being cared for by inappropriate staff. People were aware of the complaints process at the home and knew who to direct any concerns to. People were able to have their say about the service provided. Everyone that we spoke to was confident that any concerns would be listened to and acted upon quickly.

The service had a system in place to assess and monitor the quality and safety of the service. Where shortfalls in the service had been identified, action plans had been developed to address these matters. Although most of the shortfalls in quality and safety had been addressed, we have made some recommendations where further improvements should be made.