Woodside

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 good. At this inspection the rating has changed to outstanding. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently better than expected compared to similar services. People’s feedback described it as exceptional and distinctive.

This service scored 88 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The service made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.People’s needs were assessed and care was delivered with the aim of achieving their outcomes. The service worked with external professionals and services to meet people’s needs.Staff knew people well. They understood people's care and support needs, including communication needs, and assisted them accordingly. Assessments were comprehensive and reflected people and their needs. They considered all aspects of people's care and support needs.

The service always 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. They worked to develop evidence-based good practice and standards. Care and treatment always reflected current best practice and guidance. People received person-centred and tailored support in all aspects of their lives, including support with multiple health conditions and living a fulfilled life. The service demonstrated a proactive and person-centred approach to medication optimisation, ensuring all medicines were appropriate for each person’s condition and regularly reviewed to support the effective management of long-term health conditions. The service had worked with the person, their relatives and relevant health care professional to ensure the medicines were appropriate and maximised the persons quality of life. Dosing and timing were carefully considered and adjusted to maximise therapeutic benefit while fitting seamlessly into the person’s daily routine and lifestyle. The provider continuously liaised with healthcare professionals to minimise unnecessary or excessive use of multiple medicines wherever possible, reducing associated risks and ensuring each treatment remained clinically appropriate. This approach significantly enhanced people’s quality of life by limiting avoidable side effects such as drowsiness, confusion, and more time to enjoy their hobbies and interests. We observed staff supporting people with different needs with patience and compassion, promoting people’s independence and dignity using a seamless approach. Care and treatment were consistently planned and delivered in line with best practice, and evidence-based standards. Staff worked collaboratively with people to ensure what mattered most to them was central to care decisions. Clinical tools and guidance were used effectively to assess, monitor, and adapt support, ensuring interventions were safe, personalised, and continuously reviewed to achieve the best possible outcomes. The service used creative problem-solving methods to improve wellbeing, quality of life and enhance people’s experiences. A person had reduced swallowing when they moved into the home. Relatives had informed the service that their loved one was able to eat and drink until recently and there had been no medical reason for the decline in their swallowing abilities. The person receives great pleasure from food and enjoys eating and drinking. The service worked with health care professionals to resolve the situation using modified methods they helped the person gain the ability to eat and drink safely, giving the person back the enjoyment and experience of food and drink. A health care professional said, “I have observed that staff are attentive to residents’ needs and maintain a calm, supportive environment. Risk is appropriately identified and managed, particularly in relation to mobility, moving and handling, and daily living activities.” A relative told us, “All the staff are knowledgeable about [person] and go above and beyond to keep [person] healthy, they had progressed since living at Woodside in ways I could not imagine or thought was possible.”

The service worked well across teams and services to support people. They made sure people only needed to tell their story once by sharing their inspection of needs when people moved between different services. Relatives told us they were satisfied information was shared appropriately within the service and outside to health care professionals as required, for example with the GP, nurse or pharmacist.Daily care records showed entries of care and support visits; these were shared when needed. These actions contributed to continuity of care. Staff were confident in their working relationships with external professionals. We received positive feedback from healthcare professionals. A professional said, “Staff ask relevant questions, seek clarification when needed, and are receptive to professional advice.” A relative told us, “In regard to health appointments and input the staff simply get on with it and are quick at getting support for [person]. All the staff are very well trained and can identify issues. Woodside have a great relationship with the professionals.” The service had individual grab files that contained a wealth of specific information to each person, from critical information, health diagnosis, medical history, likes and dislikes, hospital passports and other necessary information. This ensured people were able to move between services and their information was easily accessible.

The service always supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to fully maximise their independence, choice and control. The service supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support. External health and social care professionals were routinely involved where required. A health care professional told us, “All staff are trained to ensure individuals are supported according to their needs. They have the expertise and knowledge within their service.” A relative said, “Staff are very well trained for more than what I expect, they are exemplary in meeting [person’s] health needs.” Staff completed training in several clinical areas, such as epilepsy, dysphagia, enteral feeding and vital signs awareness to improve people’s outcomes. People had access to healthcare in the community. People were always empowered to live healthier lives through proactive, evidence-based care, specialist training, and strong partnerships, with the whole service driving best practice and ensuring wellbeing and dignity remained central to every aspect of support. Staff knew people well and noticed signs of possible changes in their health. They responded promptly to these and supported people to access healthcare as they needed. People's care plans included information about any health conditions they were living with and the support they needed to manage these. The service went above and beyond to understand and document when a person was well and at “base line”, and what to do if there was a change to this. People were given opportunities to participate in activities that promoted physical health, such as hydrotherapy, physiotherapy and regular exercise. A health care professional said, “Advice has been met by the service with understanding and adherence, for example stretching patients on a regular basis to ensure tone is kept at a minimum and working towards contracture prevention, reducing the pain and discomfort for the person.” People had regular check-ups with any required health appointment, such as, the dentist or podiatry service. The registered manager gave examples where people’s health and well-being had improved since living at Woodside, for example, reduction in seizures and improvement in medicine side effects and general awareness. Families and professionals confirmed how people’s health conditions improved. A health care professional told us, “We work very well together and because of this we have enhanced people’s feeding programs, giving them a healthier life. Woodside staff have also created excellent plans, risk assessments and staff training for maintaining a person’s feeding tube. [Person] has not needed our input as much as they used to, as the service is managing this brilliantly.”

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. The provider consistently worked to remove barriers that could have limited progress and used partnerships to enhance outcomes. Examples were shared of how people’s lives had improved since living at Woodside. Care plans and risk assessments detailed clear goals and outcomes for people, and this included instructions for staff on how to achieve them. A health and social care professional told us, “Woodside referred someone to our team to look at trialling oral tasters. They felt that this person was showing signs of being interested in oral intake and had also gathered information from family about how important food was to that individual in the past. We were able to, as a team, look at how we might be able to support this in as safe a way as possible and this required reviews with consultants and specialists to make sure that all risk factors were taken into account and all health issues were managed as best as possible. Through this we were able to slowly introduce oral tasters and this has been supportive in increasing the person’s quality of life. This would not have been possible without the care team who identified a gap in care, supported with the review process and took a lead on trialling support strategies for oral tasters including keeping good records and monitoring so that any concerns could be fed back.” The service closely monitored people’s care to ensure it was delivering the outcomes to help people stay healthy and well. There were regular meetings and reviews for each person where the staff and management team reflected on things that were working well or not working and to agree a plan. This had a positive impact on people including a reduction in seizures, poor health and hospital admissions. Staff had a strong understanding of people’s physical health needs and signs that a person may be at risk. Relatives told us the impact staff had on their family members was significant. Relatives shared that they no longer worried constantly about their loved ones due to the care and support provided by staff. A relative told us, “[Person] is safe and well cared for so much that have not required a hospital admission in a very long time, when previously they would be in hospital frequently.” Care plan audits were completed regularly to monitor progress and identify any changes in people’s needs. Where updates were required, action was taken promptly. Monitoring tools were used to identify and monitor emerging healthcare needs and external healthcare professionals were regularly involved in improving people’s outcomes. For example, community dieticians to look at people’s specialist food intake, this ensured people were getting the right nutrition. People were encouraged to pursue activities that promoted fulfilment and enjoyment. People at the service planned holidays, including short breaks and had previously been away. Some people went on a cruise. One relative said, “[Person] is going on holiday and they have never been on holiday before, I know the staff will take great care of them and they will have an incredible time.” Another relative told us, “The experiences they get are amazing and they are incredible, carriage rides, paddleboarding, tea with a pony and many many more. All celebrations are fully celebrated.”

The service told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.We observed people being treated with respect and dignity. Relatives said their loved one was supported with kindness. Where appropriate, relatives had been involved in decisions made on the persons behalf. Consent was sought from people and where necessary in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). A clear process was in place to carry out MCA assessments where required.Records showed MCA assessments had been completed for individual decisions. Where appropriate and in relation to more complex decisions, relatives and professionals were involved with making decisions in people’s best interests.