Archived: Great Wheatley Nursing Home

Updated 4 April 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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 inspection took place on 15 February 2018 and 14 March 2018 was unannounced and carried out by two inspectors and an expert by experience on 15 February. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The inspection visit on the 14 March 2018 was to gather further information and to clarify we had sufficient evidence to write this report. It was carried out by one inspector and was unannounced.

Before the inspection, we received some concerning information in relation to an influenza outbreak and the quality of care at Great Wheatley Nursing Home. We reviewed information that we hold about the service such as safeguarding information and notifications. Notifications are the events happening in the service that the provider is required to tell us about. We used this information to plan what areas we were going to focus on during our inspection.

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 11 people, 11 visiting relatives, a healthcare professional, the registered manager and eight members of staff. We reviewed six people’s care files and six staff recruitment and support records. We also looked at a sample of the service’s quality assurance systems, training records, staff duty rotas and complaints records.

Updated 4 April 2018

The Inspection took place on 15 February and 14 March 2018 and it was unannounced.

Great Wheatley is a ‘care home with nursing’. 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 is registered to provide care and accommodation with nursing for up to 21 older people some of whom may be living with dementia and/or receiving palliative care. There were 21 people living in the service on day one of our inspection and 19 people on day two.

At the last inspection, the service was rated good and at this inspection, we found the service remains good.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 received their care and support safely. Staff understood how to support people and they knew how to protect them from the risk of harm. The service recruited people safely and employed sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. Where shortfalls in staffing had been identified, the service actively sought to fill vacancies.

The computerised medication system was good. People received their medication safely as prescribed and the records were of a good standard. Staff had a good understanding of infection control and had been trained. Appropriate action and precautions were taken, as advised by the GP when an infection was present. The environment was well maintained, kept clean and was hygienic.

Peoples care needs had been assessed and their care plans updated as their needs changed. Staff were well trained and supervised and they knew how to care for people effectively. People received a choice of fresh home cooked meals. Alternatives to the menu were available should people require them. Where people had little appetites their food and drinks were fortified to ensure they had as much nutrition as possible. Staff ensured people’s healthcare needs were met. They worked well in partnership with other professionals to ensure that people received the healthcare they needed.

The service worked in line with other legislation such as the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) to ensure that people had as much choice and control over their lives as possible. The service had carried out appropriate assessments in line with legislation. Where people were deprived of their liberty, the service had made appropriate requests for authorisation. People’s independence was encouraged as much as possible while minimising any risks to help keep them safe.

Kind and caring staff cared for people. They listened to what people had to say and let them know that they were important and that their feelings mattered. Staff were respectful and treated people with dignity, ensuring that their privacy was maintained. People and relatives were very complimentary and said that staff were kind, caring, respectful and compassionate.

People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. Advocacy services were available if people needed them. An advocate supports a person to have an independent voice and enables them to express their views when they are unable to do so for themselves.

People received personalised care that was responsive to their needs. The care plans and daily notes were detailed and informative. Staff kept them up to date using the computer tablets and recorded information in real time. There was a good complaints procedure and where complaints had been received, they had been dealt with appropriately.

People and their relatives knew the registered manager well and had confidence in them. Relatives told us they knew who was in charge of the home and they felt that the registered manager would not stand any nonsense. Staff felt supported and were happy with the registered manager’s management style. There were effective quality assurance systems and processes in place that identified and actioned the improvements needed. Confidential information was stored safely in line with data security standards.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.