Westminster House Residential Care Limited

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

The service worked with people to provide care that was person centred and promoted people’s health wellbeing and independence. People were provided with nutrition and hydration to meet their needs. 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.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

Care was person centred to enable staff to support people how they wished to be supported. A relative said, “We are always kept up to date with the care plan and if any changes are needed.”

Staff told us they regularly reviewed people’s care plans with them and made changes when needed, to ensure they were receiving the care and support they wished.

Care plans and risk assessments were kept up to date and frequently reviewed. Assessments considered the person’s health, care, wellbeing, and communication needs, to enable them to receive care or treatment that supported the best possible outcome. People’s skills and strengths were identified to help staff support their independence.

People’s opinions were sought, and they were involved in the planning of menus at the service. People were supported to have drinks throughout the day. Food was freshly prepared and looked appetising. We observed people enjoying a main meal together.

Staff told us that although menus were planned, people were given choice and could generally chose what they wanted to have to eat if they did not want what was on the main menu.

The provider employed a cook and food was prepared fresh each day. People were consulted on menus and food they preferred to eat. Assessments were in place to help staff recognise the support people required. Staff had undergone training to support people who had swallowing difficulties and how they should intervene if a person began to choke. Where required referrals had been made to speech and language therapist appropriately. Where people required a special diet, these were provided. People’s weight was monitored and any issues identified and referrals made for GP review if needed.

People received care that was co-ordinated with specialist healthcare providers when needed, such as district nurses.

Staff told us they worked closely with other healthcare teams such as district nurses and community mental health nurses to ensure people received the care they needed continuously.

The provider and home manager ensured people transitioned across healthcare teams when needed and considered people’s on-going healthcare arrangements

People had care and support that was co-ordinated, to ensure they had access to the appropriate healthcare providers. A relative said, “The staff are very good at getting the GP involved.”

Staff told us people were supported to have healthcare reviews with their GP, mental health team, dentist, optician, chiropody and district nurses.

Staff arranged appointments and made referrals where needed to ensure people had access to physical healthcare and specialist appointments. This included referring people to occupational therapist if they needed specialist equipment to support their needs.

People’s feedback on their care and wellbeing was sought regularly. Feedback was used to influence the running of the service and improve people's experience.

The home manager and staff sought people’s feedback through regular meetings with them to discuss their care.

The provider used surveys and meetings to gather feedback on care and to see if any improvements were needed. The home manager used audits and governance systems to measure health outcomes for people.

People’s consent was obtained for their care and treatment. Where appropriate family and advocates were involved in making decisions on people’s care and support. Staff listened to people and supported their choice to make decisions about how they wished to live their lives. We observed staff engaging with people and given them choice to make decisions over their everyday activities. People chose how they wished to spend their time at the service one person said, “I prefer to stay in my room.” Another person told us how they preferred to spend their time outside. We saw staff respected peoples’ wishes and choices.

Staff Had received training in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Staff understood the need to gain consent from people for care and to encourage people to make decisions for themselves. Where people were unable to do this best interest decisions were in place.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) provides a legal framework for making particular decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves. The MCA requires that, as far as possible, people make their own decisions and are helped to do so when needed. When they lack mental capacity to take particular decisions, any made on their behalf must be in their best interests and as least restrictive as possible. People can only be deprived of their liberty to receive care and treatment when this is in their best interests and legally authorised under the MCA. In care homes, and some hospitals, this is usually through MCA application procedures called the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Where people had a DoLS in place the home manager made sure any conditions for these were adhered too.