Westhill Care Home

Updated 18 March 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors.

Service and service type

Westhill Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Westhill Care Home is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection:

We spoke with four people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the provider, deputy manager and care workers. We reviewed a range of records including four people’s care records, four people’s medication records and fire safety records. We reviewed three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed including audits, policies and procedures. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

After the inspection

We sought feedback from healthcare professionals who work with the service. We sought clarification from the provider to validate evidence we found. We reviewed documentation in relation to quality assurance and policies.

Updated 18 March 2022

About the service

Westhill Care Home is a residential care home providing accommodation for up to nine people requiring personal care. The service provides support to people with a learning disability and autism across two residential properties. At the time of our inspection, there were eight people using the service.

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

We were somewhat assured the service were following safe infection prevention and control procedures to keep people safe. We identified that the provider did not have systems in place to ensure all relevant visiting professionals were checked for their COVID-19 vaccination status prior to entering the service. When we highlighted this, the provider took immediate action to address this and implemented appropriate systems.

People who used the service and their relatives told us they felt safe with staff and that they were kind and caring towards them. Staff were aware of risks associated with people’s care and how to reduce these. We observed sufficient staff being deployed and people did not have to wait for support.

People’s medicines were stored and administered safely. The provider regularly reviewed the use of ‘as required’ medicines to ensure these were used as a last option. We saw from records that healthcare professionals had been involved in people’s care. People had risk assessments in place to reduce known risks and included instructions for staff to follow.

Staff had received supervisions and told us they felt valued and supported by the provider. Staff understood their role and responsibilities and knew who to approach for support if they needed to.

There was a positive culture in the service and relatives told us this gave them a peace of mind. People, their relatives and staff spoke highly of the management of the service and told us they felt confident approaching the provider if they had suggestions on how to improve the service.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

Based on our review of the key questions Safe and Well-led, the service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right support: Model of care and setting maximises people’s choice, control and Independence

People were supported by staff to make their own choices in relation to their care and people were encouraged to have control in their daily lives. Staff used a variety of methods to communicate with people to ensure they were able to express their views.

Right care: Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human rights

The service was situated in a residential area and there were no outward signs to differentiate it from other houses in the street. Local shops and amenities were within close proximity of the service. Staff knew people well and ensured they were supported appropriately with their care needs and relatives told us people lived dignified lives that respected their human rights.

Right culture: Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives

The culture of the service was inclusive and encouraged individuals to express their views. People who used the service, their relatives and staff spoke highly of the leadership and culture in the service. Relatives told us they felt people were supported to lead confident and empowered lives.

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 9 December 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this focused inspection and remains good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.