Woodlands House

Woodlands House is a 'care home'. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 14 people and there were 11 people living at the home when we inspected. The service was providing care for a wide range of care needs such as for older persons, and those living with dementia.

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

The service is a specialist dementia service and the provider had not fully considered people’s needs with regards to the layout of the service and providing accessible information. Improvements were required to the mealtime experience for people and the environment of the service. The provider had systems of quality assurance to measure and monitor the standard of the service and drive improvement. However, these systems had not ensured the areas of improvement we identified were prevented and rectified.

We have made a recommendation about supporting people with dementia to eat and drink well.

People were happy with the care they received, felt relaxed with staff and told us they were treated with kindness. They said they felt safe, were well supported and there were enough staff to care for them. One person told us, “I’m having a good day, I’m alright.” Our own observations supported this, and we saw friendly relationships had developed between people and staff. A relative told us, “My [relative] has been at the home for a long time, he seems very happy, and I have no concerns about the care he receives.”

People received medicines safely. People’s care plans were up to date and accurately reflected their needs. People were able to receive visits from their relatives and there was a programme of activities to support their well-being.

Staff worked collaboratively with outside agencies such as the local authority and healthcare professionals. Complaints were handled appropriately, and people enjoyed the food and drinks on offer. People were protected from harm and abuse, as staff knew how to safeguard people and what procedures they should follow.

Staff had received relevant training to meet people’s needs, and people’s wishes at the end of their life were respected. People were able to express their views and had their dignity, independence and privacy promoted.

Systems were in place to assist people to stay safe by assessing and mitigating risks, ensuring people were cared for in a person-centred way and that the provider learned from any mistakes. Our own observations and the feedback we received supported this. People received good care that met their needs and improved their wellbeing. The staff team were dedicated and enthusiastic.

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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 29 October 2021 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 29 September 2018.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about care delivery and the environment of the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

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 request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.