All inspections: Westfield House - Care Quality Commission

Date of Assessment: 21 May 2026. The service is a residential care home providing support to older people, younger people and people with mental health conditions. We carried out an assessment looking at all quality statements and all key questions. Our decision to inspect the service was due to the length of time since our last inspection. At our last inspection the service was rated good. At this assessment the service remained good.

People received their medicines safely and as prescribed. People lived in a predominantly clean environment. There were systems to investigate and learn from accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns. 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.

Risks associated with people’s needs were identified and managed to keep people safe. Staff were trained and supported to carry out their roles effectively. Staff told us leaders were supportive and approachable and gave them the skills and confidence to carry out their role.

People’s needs were assessed and support was delivered in line with their care plans. Staff know people well and understood their needs and preferences. People were supported to stay healthy and to access external healthcare services.

People were treated with kindness, respect and dignity. People were supported to take part in a range of activities in the community. People received personalised care which met their needs and reflected their preferences. People’s human rights were respected.

People had opportunity to feedback about the service and were involved in service improvements. The provider had a complaints procedure and people knew how to raise concerns. People had confidence staff and leaders would act quickly to resolve any issues. People had access to information which was presented in accessible formats.

Systems in place to monitor and review the service were effective in identifying areas for improvements. Staff and leaders worked in collaboration with external professionals to ensure people received appropriate care and support.

About the service:

Westfield House is a residential care home providing support to up to 22 people living with a diagnosis of a mental health condition. At the time of the inspection 20 people were using the service. The service is located in the Rawmarsh area of Rotherham, close to local facilities and the public transport network.

People’s experience of using this service:

People told us they experienced a good standard of care at Westfield House. They told us they felt safe, and said they would recommend the service to others. Our observations showed staff were respectful to people using the service, and we saw positive relations between staff and people using the service.

People received care which was highly tailored to their needs. People were involved in planning their care, and people we spoke with told us they understood their care plans and felt they had control over them. People told us they felt there were enough staff on duty at all times. One person said: “There’s always someone around, that’s never a problem.”

The service was safely managed, there were a range of audits in place to monitor the standard of safety within the home, and were issues were identified they were quickly acted upon. Managers had a good oversight of risks within the service and these were regularly reviewed to ensure they were managed appropriately.

People gave us positive feedback about the food available at Westfield House. We saw people were encouraged to make food choices independently, and staff spoke with knowledge about arrangements to support people to develop skills in this area. Mealtimes were unhurried and clearly dictated by people’s choices and preferences.

People weresupported 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.

Managers were highly visible within the service and accessible to people using the service. People told us they knew the management team well and could speak with them whenever they wanted to. Staff told us they felt supported by the management team, with one staff member describing the management team as “so supportive, always approachable.”

People were supported in maintaining good health, and staff liaised with external healthcare providers where appropriate to ensure that care was provided in a way that met people’s needs.

More information is in the full report

Rating at last inspection:

Good. The report was published in January 2017.

Why we inspected:

This was a scheduled inspection based on the last rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

The inspection was unannounced, which meant the provider did not know we were coming. It took place on 7 December 2016. The home was previously inspected in July 2015 and was rated requires improvement with breaches of regulations in The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Following that inspection the registered and general manager sent us an action plan to tell us what improvements they were going to make. They told us the improvements would be completed by the end of January 2016.

Westfield House is a care home for people with a mental health diagnosis. It comprises of two units. Westfield House has 12 single rooms with en-suites and one self contained flat, Westfield Mews has nine self-contained flats. It is situated in Parkgate close to Rotherham town centre.

The home had a registered manager. 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. The registered manager was registered at a number of locations and there was a general manager at this service who also had management responsibilities. The registered manager was on leave at the time of our inspection. However, the general manager who had day to day responsibility for the service was available.

We saw there were systems and processes in place to protect people from the risk of harm. Staff we spoke with were knowledgeable about safeguarding vulnerable people and were able to explain the procedures to follow should an allegation of abuse be made.

People’s needs were assessed and care and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual support plan. The individual plans we looked at included risk assessments which identified any risk associated with people’s care.

Systems were in place to ensure people received their medications in a safe and timely way from staff who had been trained to carry out this role. However, we identified some minor improvements could be made.

We found the service to be meeting the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The staff we spoke with had a good understanding of the requirements.

People were supported to eat and drink sufficient to maintain a balanced diet. People we spoke with who used the service told us they liked the food and could choose what they wanted and when they wanted to eat.

At the last inspection the provider agreed to increase the staffing numbers to be able to meet people's social needs and to be able to access the community with support if required. We found at this inspection the numbers had predominantly been maintained to ensure peoples needs were met. We also found staff had the right skills, knowledge and experience to meet people’s needs.

Staff were provided with appropriate training, support and supervision to help them meet people’s needs.

Systems were in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service, including obtaining feedback from people who used the service and their relatives. Records showed that systems for recording and managing complaints, safeguarding concerns and incidents and accidents were well managed.

The inspection took place on 1 and 6 July and was unannounced on the first day. We last inspected the service in October 2013 when it was found to be meeting the regulations we assessed.

Westfield House is a care home for people with a mental health diagnosis. It comprises of 13 single rooms with en-suites and nine self-contained flats. It is situated in Parkgate close to Rotherham town centre.

There was a registered manager at the time of our inspection. 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. The registered manager was registered at a number of locations and there was a general manager at this service who also had management responsibilities.

People who used the service who we spoke with told us the service was very good, staff were excellent and they felt safe living at Westfield House. However, we identified a number of concerns. Our observations and the records we looked at did not always match the positive descriptions people gave us. We found a number of breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. We identified that people did not always receive safe care and treatment that was person centred, infection control measures were not satisfactory, there were not always enough staff on duty to meet people’s needs and the quality monitoring of the service was not always effective

During our inspection we saw staff encouraged people to be as independent as possible while taking into consideration their wishes and any risks associated with their care. People’s comments and our observations indicated they received the care and support they needed from staff who knew about their individual needs and helped them meet them. However, risks had not always been identified or documented in people’s plans of care. We also identified that people’s physical health was not always monitored as required.

There were not always enough staff to meet people’s needs. People who lived at the home told us they did not think there was always enough staff on duty to meet their needs. One person said, “I would like to go out but need staff to support me, so I don’t get out much.” The provider has addressed this since our visit.

People were not always protected against the risks associated with infection prevention and control. The systems in place were not effective in ensuring the service maintained standards.

People were protected against the risks associated with the unsafe use and management of medicines. Appropriate arrangements were in place for the recording, safe keeping and safe administration of medicines.

We found that staff we spoke with had a good understanding of the legal requirements as required under the Mental Capacity Act (2005) Code of Practice. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 sets out how to act to support people who do not have the capacity to make some or all decisions about their care.

People were supported with their dietary requirements. We found a varied, nutritious diet was provided.

We found staff approached people in a kind and caring way which encouraged them to express how and when they needed support. People we spoke with told us that they were able to make decisions about their care and how staff were to support them to meet their needs.

There were robust recruitment procedures in place. Staff had received formal supervision and annual appraisals had been completed. These ensured development and training to support staff to fulfil their roles and responsibilities was identified.

Staff told us they felt supported and they could raise any concerns with the general and registered managers, and felt that they were listened to. People told us they were aware of the complaints procedure and said staff would assist them if they needed to use it

The provider had a system to monitor the quality of the service provided. However, some of these were not fit for purpose and were therefore not always effective.

People we spoke with told us they were looked after and the staff were good. One person told us, 'It is the best place I have lived in and I have been in some care homes.'

People expressed their views and were involved in making decisions about their care and treatment.

We found that the environment was well maintained in a clean and hygienic condition. We also found systems were in place to reduce the risk and spread of infection. Work to improve the environment was on-going at the time of our visit.

We found there were effective recruitment and selection processes in place. Staff received appropriate professional development. However the documentation required to be available in respect of a person employed was not always available at the service.

There was an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service. The systems were also being improved further at the time of our visit.

People told us they liked their independence and staff supported them to be independent.

We were also told the staff were good listeners and always helped resolve any issues. Staff were very good and understood what support they needed and respected their decisions.

People told us, 'I am happy with all the service provided, there is nothing I want to change'.

'I am happy with everything'.

People told us they completed questionnaires, where they could record their views of the home. People also said they were invited to a meeting sometimes they went but not always but that was their choice.

Westfield House

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

20 June 2019

During a routine inspection

7 December 2016

During a routine inspection

1 & 6 July 2015

During a routine inspection

24 October 2013

During a routine inspection

23 April 2012

During a routine inspection