Woodhouse

Updated 24 May 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

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 inspection was completed by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Woodhouse is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Woodhouse is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

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. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 6 people who lived at the service about their experience of the care provided and spent time with others observing interactions with staff. We spoke with 3 relatives.

We spoke with 5 members of staff, the registered manager, the deputy manager, the area manager, and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. After the inspection we received emails from 3 staff sharing their experience of working for the service.

We emailed 16 health and social care professionals about their experience of the service. We received 5 responses.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people's care records, daily records and medication records. We looked at the records relating to Deprivation of Liberty for people that had this in place. We looked at the recruitment records for 2 newly appointed members of staff. We also examined a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including training data, recruitment documentation, duty rotas and quality assurance records.

Updated 24 May 2023

About the service

Woodhouse is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for 16 people. People who live at the home have learning and physical disabilities. At the time of the inspection, there were 16 people living at Woodhouse.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

The home met the characteristics that underpin the right support, right care and right culture and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes.

However, the home accommodated more people than would be the optimum and was larger in scale than a domestic property. This was mitigated to some degree as each person had their own flat or apartment and were allocated staff daily to support them in a person-centred way. Care was tailored to the person. The building was set back from the road in a residential area close to shops. There were deliberately no identifying signs, intercom, cameras, industrial bins or anything else outside to indicate it was a care home.

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

Right Support:

People were completely at the heart of the service. Staff focused on people’s strengths and promoted what they could do, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life.

The service gave people care and support in a safe, clean, well equipped, well-furnished and well-maintained environment that met their sensory and physical needs.

People were supported by staff to achieve their aspirations and goals. Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community.

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.

Right Care:

People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. They understood and responded to their individual needs.

People were very much supported to take part in activities and pursue interests that were tailored to them. The service gave people opportunities to try new activities that enhanced and enriched their lives.

Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.

Staff promoted equality and diversity in their support for people. They understood people’s cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care.

The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.

Right Culture:

People led inclusive and empowered lives because of the values, attitudes and behaviours of the provider, management, and staff. Staff demonstrated their commitment to the values of the service that put people at the centre of the care and support provided. Staff felt supported and worked as team to ensure people’s care and support needs were met.

Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the very heart of everything they did. People and those important to them, were involved in the planning of their care. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views.

There were robust quality assurance processes in place that drove improvement.

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 good (published 21 November 2021). The service continues to be rated good.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection due to the length of time since the last inspection. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection.

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, which will help inform when we next inspect.