Archived: Wellcroft House

Updated 23 February 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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 unannounced comprehensive inspection was completed by one inspector on 23 January 2019. Telephone calls to relatives were made on 28 January 2019.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make

We reviewed other information that we held about the service, such as notifications, which are events which happened in the service that the provider is required to tell us about, and information that had been sent to us by other agencies. This included the local authority who commissioned services from the provider.

We were unable to speak with people using the service, so we carried out a Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI) to observe the interactions of people unable to speak with us. We spoke with three relatives, two members of care staff and the deputy manager. We spent time observing how staff provided care for people to help us better understand their experiences of the care and support they received.

We looked at two people’s care records, two medicine administration records and two staff recruitment files. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service including quality checks and audits.

Updated 23 February 2019

Wellcroft House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided and both were looked at during this inspection. Wellcroft House is a care home without nursing, which can accommodate up to six people. At the time of our inspection six people were using the service and these included people with a learning disability or autism.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The inspection visit took place on 23 January 2019 and was unannounced. Calls to relatives were made on 28 January 2019.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

There was a registered manager in post and they were present during the 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 continued to receive care that made them feel safe and staff understood how to protect people from abuse and harm. Risks to people were assessed and guidance about how to manage these was available for staff to refer to/follow. Safe recruitment of staff was carried out and adequate numbers of staff were available to people. People received medicines as required.

People continued to receive effective support from staff with a sufficient level of skills and knowledge to meet their specific needs. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. People were assisted to access appropriate healthcare support and received an adequate diet and hydration.

The care people received was provided with kindness, compassion and dignity. People were supported to express their views and be involved as much as possible in making decisions. Staff supported people to have choices and independence, wherever possible. Staff enabled people to access activities should they so wish.

The provider had effective systems in place to regularly review people’s care provision, with their involvement. People’s care was personalised and care plans contained information about the person, their needs and choices. Care staff knew people’s needs and respected them.

The service continued to be well-led, including making checks and monitoring of the quality of the service. Relatives and staff were positive about the leadership skills of the registered manager. We were provided with information as required.