Westwood Lodge Care Home

Updated 11 February 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 12 January 2022 and was announced. We gave the service one day's notice of the inspection.

Updated 11 February 2022

About the service

Westwood Lodge Care Home provides accommodation for up to 44 people with personal and nursing care needs. People had a range of health care needs including those with mental health, drug and alcohol misuse related conditions and those living with dementia. At the time of the inspection the service supported 33 people.

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

People felt safe and comfortable living in the home and receiving support from staff. Risks to people’s health and welfare as well as the environment were managed well. The manager understood their responsibility about safeguarding and staff felt confident protecting people from abuse. Medicines were managed in a safe way. The provider learned from accidents and incidents to reduce future risks. Staff were recruited in a safe way and checks on nurses took place to ensure they were fit to practice. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs.

At the time of the inspection the service did not have a registered manager and the Commission had not received an application from the provider. There was a manager in post who was effectively overseeing the day to day running of the home.

People’s needs were assessed prior to moving into the home. Staff were inducted into the service and received ongoing training. Staff felt supported in their roles and received annual appraisals. The frequency of supervisions differed amongst staff and requires review.

We have made a recommendation about the provider ensuring the performance of all staff is regularly monitored and recorded.

People were encouraged to enjoy a balanced diet and supported with their nutritional needs. People had access to a range of health care professionals to maintain or improve their health. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff thought highly of people and supported them in a respectful and dignified manner. People were encouraged to live their lives in the most independent way possible and to do things for themselves, where possible. People were supported to access advocacy services.

Care plans were person-centred and detailed to instruct staff how to support people in line with their wishes. People’s communication needs were detailed within care records and staff knew how to communicate with them effectively. People knew how to raise concerns and were confident they would be dealt with. The provider had a complaints procedure that was followed in practice.

People and staff were positive about the management of the service. Staff felt the manager was approachable and they could raise any issues or concerns with them at any time. People, relatives and health professionals were consulted about the quality of the service through surveys. Staff were involved in the ongoing development and improvement of the service via regular meetings. An effective quality assurance process was in place.

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 requires improvement (published 21 December 2018) and there was one breach in regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when, to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the Effective and Well-Led sections of this full report.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.