Westcombe Park Care Home

Updated 31 July 2021

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention 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 site visit was carried out by an inspector, a specialist advisor and an Expert by Experience. A second Expert by Experience carried out phone calls to relatives following the inspection. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service type

Westcombe Park is a care home that provides accommodation, nursing and personal care for older adults. 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.

The service had a manager who had applied to register with the Care Quality Commission at the time of the inspection. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included details about incidents the provider must tell us about. We contacted the local authority commissioners to ask for their views.

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.

We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people and five relatives during the inspection visit. The Expert by Experience spoke with seven relatives by phone following the inspection.

We observed the care provided in the communal areas and spoke with a visiting health professional. We spoke with the manager, the regional manager, two care workers and the activities coordinator on the inspection visit. We spoke with three care workers, one senior care worker, and five nurses by phone following the site visit.

We reviewed a range of records, this included seven care plans and records used to manage the service, for example, meeting minutes.

After the inspection

We requested some further information to be sent to us for example, in relation to monitoring records and audits. We sought feedback from two health professionals about their experience of working with the home.

Updated 31 July 2021

About the service

Westcombe Park Care Home is a nursing home that provides nursing and personal care for adults. It accommodates up to 45 people in one adapted building. At the time of the inspection 30 people were using the service.

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

People told us they were well looked after, and that staff were kind. We observed that staff followed safe infection control practices. A relative commented, “I would give them top marks for cleanliness and their Covid-19 measures.”

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. Changes had been made to address the way the home managed deprivation of liberty safeguards to ensure they complied with any conditions made.

The provider had improved their framework for staff training and support. Staff received training and a competency check across all aspects of the care provided. Staff had received training in areas we had previously identified such as end of life care and dementia.

The environment had been improved to offer more signage for people who may need to orientate themselves.

Improvements had been made to the system to oversee the quality and safety of the service to ensure any issues were identified and rectified.

People’s nutritional needs were met. Staff worked closely with health professionals to ensure people’s changing needs were considered and any risks reduced.

People received personalised care that reflected their current needs and wishes and addressed their age, gender, sexuality, disability culture and spiritual needs.

People told us there was enough to do and we saw improvements had been made to the availability of activities for people nursed in bed. Where appropriate people received end of life care that was responsive to their needs and wishes.

People and their relatives were positive about the new manager and their availability and approachability. The manager and provider looked to learn openly from any incidents or accidents to improve the quality of the care provided. They were looking to involve people more directly in their care and sought their feedback through a variety of means including meetings and surveys.

Staff were all positive about the impact of the new manager and changes they were introducing. They said the manager was driving improvements in people’s care, was supportive and encouraging of their development and had developed good team work practice across the home.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for this service was 'Requires Improvement' (published 9 September 2019). We found a breach of regulations and some areas for improvement. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 14 and 16 August 2019. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve the way they monitored deprivation of liberty safeguards.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements and addressed other areas identified as requiring improvement . This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Effective, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements and areas of improvement.

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.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Westcombe Park on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

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.