This inspection took place over a period of two days. Both visits were unannounced. We previous inspected Westmead Residential Care Home on 20 October 2015 and rated the provider to be Good in all five questions and Good overall.
At this inspection, we found the service remained Good.
Westmead Residential Care Home is a ‘care home.’ People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
Westmead accommodates a maximum of 35 older people in one adapted building. Care and support was provided for people on both the ground and first floor. On the first day of our inspection there were 31 people living at the home. Some people were living with dementia.
There was a registered manager working at the home 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.
People felt safe living at the home. Staff were aware of the action needed if they were concerned about people and their safety at the home. Staff were aware of how to reduce risks to people’s care and used equipment safely to promote good care. People’s dependency levels were monitored to assess the number of staff required to meet people’s needs. Some people believed staffing levels to be low at times to care for people in their preferred way. People received their medicines as prescribed.
Electronic care plans were in place. The registered manager was aware improvements were needed to ensure information was available to senior staff for them to fully audit them and was working with programme designers to achieve this.
Risks of infection were reduced due to systems and practices in place. Accidents and incidents were reviewed to reduce the risk of reoccurrence and in order for lessons to be learnt to prevent further incidents.
People’s needs were assessed and known to staff before they moved into the home to ensure they could be met. Staff received training and were supported to assist them provide the care people required. There were some mixed comments regarding the food provided from people at the home and whether people enjoyed it. People received support with eating and drinking as required to meet their needs. People were assisted to received support and advice from healthcare professionals to help maintain their wellbeing.
People were supported to have a choice and control of their lives. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible.
People liked the staff that provided their care and support and were able to relax and spend time with them. Staff were aware of different means of communicating with people and ensured people received care and support in a dignified way. Staff had knowledge of people’s likes and dislikes as well as their personal life histories. Relatives were confident their family member would receive good end of life care.
People were able to spend time doing things they enjoyed doing and were able to participate in events at the home. People and their relatives were aware of how to raise complaints and were confident these would be addressed.
People, their relatives and staff were complimentary about the registered manager and the senior team. Management systems were in place to ensure checks were undertaken so people would receive quality care and support. People and staff felt listened and to and believed their opinions were taken into account.