Archived: West Ridings Care Home

Updated 3 October 2017

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 19 and 20 July 2017 and was unannounced. There were six adult social care inspectors on the first day and four adult social care inspectors on the second day. There were two experts by experience on the second day. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the home. This included looking at information we had received about the service and statutory notifications we had received from the home. We also contacted the local authority commissioners and the safeguarding adult board quality intelligence group.

We reviewed the provider information return (PIR) which had been completed in detail and sent to us prior to the inspection. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We displayed posters to inform people and visitors that we were inspecting the service and inviting them to share their views.

We looked around all five units that were occupied, looked in people’s rooms with their permission and in communal areas. We spoke with 33 people, 20 visitors, 21 care and nursing staff, 2 hosts and hostesses (who are employed to support people’s dining experience), the chef, the registered manager, the clinical services manager, the resident experience manager and the regional director. 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.

We looked at care documentation for 14 people, three recruitment files and records relating to quality assurance monitoring and the safety of the premises and equipment.

Updated 3 October 2017

The inspection took place on 18 and 20 July 2017 and was unannounced. This was the first inspection of the location West Ridings Care Home, registered under Bupa Care Homes Limited, although the home has been operating for a number of years.

West Ridings Care Home is a multi-unit site providing accommodation and nursing care for up to a maximum of 180 people. The service has six units and provides care and support for people with nursing and residential needs including people who are living with dementia. On the day of our visit there were five units open and 108 people living at the home.

The home had a registered manager. 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.

The environment was bright, welcoming and inviting, with recent improvements made to the décor to create a homely, friendly feel to each unit.

People had safe care, although the deployment of staff was not always consistent or sufficient to meet people’s needs.

Staff were confident in moving and handling and people had been appropriately assessed to use equipment.

Safeguarding procedures were known by staff, but not always implemented.

The outcome of people’s mental capacity assessments was not always clear and we have made a recommendation for the provider to review this. Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act, although assessments of people’s mental capacity were variable across the site. People were not fully supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not always support them in the least restrictive way possible.

People enjoyed their meals and the food and drink was of good quality, although there was a long delay for people on the Calderdale unit at lunchtime to be served. The recording of people’s food and drinks was not always effective to support people’s needs.

Communication between staff was effective and there was evidence of good teamwork. Staff interaction was patient, kind and caring.

People’s privacy was maintained, although people’s dignity was not always supported on the Calderdale unit and continence needs were not well always managed.

There was evidence of person-centred care and practice matched what was written in people’s files. We found contrasting standards of care on the Calderdale unit where care was more task focused than person-centred.

When staff had time to interact with people, conversations and activities were meaningful. However, people did not always have opportunities for meaningful engagement and some people in the Calderdale unit spent long periods of time in their chairs with little interaction.

Complaints and compliments were recorded and responded to appropriately.

There was clear communication across the whole site and information sharing between the units.

The management team was responsive to issues raised throughout the inspection, taking swift action where matters could be rectified. Although quality assurance systems were in place, these required further rigour to ensure consistency of quality across the whole site.

You can see what action we asked the provider to take at the back of the report.