Woodlands House

Updated 7 July 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.

This was a targeted inspection to check whether the provider had effective arrangements in place to care for people who required support with the medicine and for those who were at risk of falls.

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

One inspector carried out the inspection.

Service and service type

Woodlands House 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. Woodlands House 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 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 also used information sent to us from the general public.

During the inspection

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with the registered manager, the operational support manager, the quality advisor, 4 relatives and 3 people. We viewed various records relating to the quality of the service. Documents included information about complaints, 4 people’s care plans, incident and accident records, quality assurance records and infection control records.

Updated 7 July 2023

About the service:

Woodlands House is a residential care home. It provides personal care and accommodation for up to 40 older people. There were 38 people living at the service at the time of inspection, some of whom were living with dementia. The home consisted of a residential setting and a separate ‘dementia cottage’, designed to provide higher levels of care.

People’s experience of using this service:

The provider had fostered an overwhelmingly person- centred approach to delivering care. There was a focus on giving people meaningful occupation, utilising skills and keeping people connected to their local community. Activities at the home were creative, wide ranging and designed with people’s skills and interests in mind. This had clear benefits in improving people’s physical and mental wellbeing.

People, relatives and professionals told us how the provider’s person-centred approach had helped to make improvements to people’s motivation, mood, independence and social interaction. Staff were skilled in their approach to ensure that people’s individual needs were considered in the design and delivery of care.

The service had a record of outstanding practice in delivering end of life care in line with best practice. They worked in partnership with people, relatives and stakeholders to help ensure people receive personalised care which reflected their needs and preferences as they neared the end of their life.

Staff were motivated in their role and were caring. They understood people’s needs and treated them with dignity and respect. There was a positive atmosphere at the home, where people were content, active and well attended to.

There was strong leadership at the home. The registered manager understood the responsibilities of their role and was attuned to people’s needs. There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service.

People’s needs were assessed to ensure they received appropriate support with their nutrition, hydration, medicines and healthcare. Risks associated with the environment were safely managed and the home was clean and hygienic.

The home was a suitable environment for people. There were a range of communal spaces which people could utilise throughout the day. The provider had made adaptions to the home to make it suitable for people living with dementia.

The provider had processes in place to gain appropriate consent to care. 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.

The provider had safeguarding policies and procedures in place, which helped to reduce the risk of people suffering abuse or coming to avoidable harm. There were appropriate systems in place to gain feedback and respond to complaints.

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

Rating at last inspection:

The service was rated good at our last inspection (published 4 July 2017)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.