Waters Park House

Updated 11 December 2020

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This was a targeted inspection to check on a specific concern we had received about staffing levels, staff training, supervision and recruitment practices. We also looked into medicine management and reports that care plans had not been updated. Other issues of concern included, not reporting safeguarding concerns, complaints not being followed up and incomplete audits. There was also concerns over the management of the service and lack of staff support.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection prevention and control measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors.

Service and service type

Waters Park 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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We briefly observed people who used the service and spoke to six staff, the registered manager, clinical lead and two registered nurses. We observed staff providing care and support to people during our visit from a socially distanced position.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and a sample of medicine records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits and a safeguarding notification sent to CQC.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training records and medicine audits.

Updated 11 December 2020

The inspection of Waters Park House (“Waters Park”) took place on the 12 and 13 March 2018 and was unannounced.

We last inspected Waters Park on the 2 and 3 February 2017. We had rated the service as Requires Improvement having found issues as to whether the service was safe, responsive and well-led. We found breaches of Regulation 18 of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 and Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This was because we had not received all notifications as required and the leadership and governance of the service was not ensuring the quality of the service and people’s records were not always accurate, complete or showing the complete story of people’s care. Notifications are specific events registered persons have to tell us about.

Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve the areas above to at least good.

On this inspection, we found the concerns from February 2017 had been addressed in full.

Waters Park is registered to provide care with nursing for up to 23 people. They support people who have experienced a brain injury or a diagnosis which impacts on the brain such as Huntington’s or a stroke. People may have mental health, physical disabilities or a sensory impairment due to the impact of their condition.

Waters Park is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

A registered manager was in place to manage and oversee the running of the service. 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 registered manager was also the provider. They were supported in their role by a care manager, a nurse manager and a multi-disciplinary team (MDT). The MDT was made up of qualified nurses, occupational therapists, a physiotherapist, a psychologist, a speech and language therapist and rehabilitation assistants.

Following the last inspection the MDT had worked hard to address the concerns. The MDT were passionate about the needs of people and supporting them to reach their potential in life. This support and caring included the family and friends. People were supported to communicate in their chosen way and every effort was made to ensure this happened. Staff also made sure they understood people well so any concerns could be picked up and resolved quickly.

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.

People received effective care from staff who had the skills and knowledge to meet their needs. Staff monitored people’s health and well-being and made sure they had access to other healthcare professionals according to their individual needs. People had their medicines administered safely. Errors were picked up quickly and action taken to keep people safe. This was one example of how the service demonstrated they learned from events

The service was responsive to people’s needs and they were able to make choices about their day to day routines. People had access to a range of activities which provided them with mental and social stimulation. People’s faith and cultural needs were met. People could access the community safely.

People felt safe at the home and with the staff who supported them. There were systems and processes in place to minimise risks to people. These included a robust recruitment process and making sure staff knew how to recognise and report abuse. There were adequate numbers of staff available to meet people’s needs in a timely manner. Staff were recruited safely.

People could be confident that at the end of their lives they would be cared for with kindness and compassion and their comfort would be maintained. The staff worked with other organisations to make sure high standards of care were provided and people received the support and treatment they wished for at the end of their lives.

People said they would be comfortable to make a complaint and were confident action would be taken to address their concerns. The registered manager and provider treated complaints as an opportunity to learn and improve.

The home was well led by an experienced registered manager and management team. The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service, seek people’s views and make on-going improvements. Safe infection control practices were followed.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.