Walcot Hall Nursing Home

Walcot Hall Nursing Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 37 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 42 people.

Walcot Hall Nursing Home is a large adapted period house on the outskirts of a village and has extensive and pleasant grounds for people to enjoy. There are communal dining and recreation areas. Accommodation is arranged on two floors.

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

People were safe, risks were assessed, monitored and well managed. Staffing levels met people's personalised care needs. Staff followed good practice guidelines to prevent the spread of infection and gave people their medicines safely. The service was clean and tidy. People were supported to access health and social care professionals.

People received enough food to eat and a selection of drinks were available. People’s dietary needs were assessed, and guidance was available for staff within care plans. A relative told us, "[Family member] has not got a good appetite, but staff provide lots of alternatives to encourage them to eat.”

There were various activities available for people to engage in as they wished. People were supported with their interests, and links with the community were maintained where possible following government guidance for COVID -19. Families were welcomed to the service. There was a complaints procedure in place and the provider responded to complaints appropriately.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People and relatives told us staff were kind and caring. Care plans contained personalised detailed information to guide staff. The management team reviewed the care and support provided to people. The registered manager carried out regular checks on the quality and safety of the service and understood their regulatory responsibilities. People gave positive feedback about the management. One person said, "The registered manager's door is always open, we are all always greeted with a smile." Staff were positive about the registered manager, who they said was open and supportive.

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 the service under the previous provider was good published on 5 February 2020.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection due to a change in provider.

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.

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.