Woodheath Care Home

Updated 20 July 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 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 was conducted by an inspector.

Service and service type

Woodheath 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. Woodheath Care Home is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection, including feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager, unit manager and four other members of the staff team. We also spoke with three people that lived in the home and two relatives about their experience of the care provided.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to safe recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits were also reviewed.

Updated 20 July 2022

About the service

Woodheath Care Home is registered to provide accommodation and nursing care for up to 61 people. There were 59 people were living there at the time of the inspection, some of whom were living with dementia.

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

We made a recommendation about the management of medicines. The stock balances of medicines we checked did not all correspond with the balances recorded and records showed the temperature of one area where medicines were stored, had not been checked daily as required. However, medicines were administered by staff who had undertaken training and had their competency assessed.

Infection prevention and control policies and procedures were in place to help reduce the risk of infections, including COVID-19. The home was clean and cleaning schedules were being further developed to help minimise any risk of infections being spread. Personal Protective Equipment was available to all staff and visitors and we observed this to be worn appropriately. Staff told us they completed COVID-19 tests regularly, but the system in place to oversee this was not robust.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service and these were completed regularly but could be developed further to ensure they identified any areas of potential improvement. The registered manager was already aware of most areas that required improvement and was implementing measures to address these areas.

People told us they received safe care at Woodheath. Staff were aware of safeguarding and knew how to report any concerns they had. Most risks to people and the building had been assessed to maintain safety. Although staff had completed relevant training as part of their induction, not all staff were up to date with training courses considered mandatory for staff to have the knowledge and skills to support people safely.

Accidents and incidents were managed safely. Records showed that appropriate actions were taken following any accidents

There were enough staff available to meet people’s needs in a timely way. Safe recruitment procedures had been followed to help ensure staff were suitable to work in social care.

People’s friends and family were encouraged to visit the home safely in line with government guidance. Relatives told us they were always kept informed of any changes involving their family members and had been kept updated throughout the pandemic when they were unable to visit the home.

There were systems in place to gather feedback from people, such as regular meeting and surveys. This enabled people living in the home, their relatives and staff, to share their views of the service. Feedback regarding the care provided and the management of the service was positive. Staff told us they enjoyed their jobs and felt well supported by the management team.

The registered manager liaised with other health and social care professionals when required, to help ensure people's needs were met. They were aware of the responsibilities of their role and took timely action to address issues highlighted during this inspection.

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 2 April 2020).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to infection prevention and control procedures within the home. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. 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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained the same at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Woodheath Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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