Woodseats and Norton

Updated 27 May 2023

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 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

This inspection was carried out by 3 inspectors and a Specialist Advisor.

Service and service type

Woodseats and Norton 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. Woodseats and Norton 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 were 2 registered managers in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 4 April and ended on 28 April 2023. We visited the location’s service on 4 and 14 April.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since our 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with 5 people and 5 relatives to understand their experience of care provided. We spoke with 11 staff including the operations manager, the 2 registered managers, team leaders and support workers. We reviewed a range of records including 5 people’s care plans, risk assessments and records relating to the provision of people’s care and support. We looked at 3 staff files including recruitment checks, supervisions and appraisals; we looked at the wider staff teams training records and compliance. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service including audits and policies and procedures. Following the inspection, we spoke with 2 professionals who had worked with the service.

Updated 27 May 2023

About the service

Woodseats and Norton is a residential care home providing accommodation for people requiring personal and nursing care to 16 people. The service provides support to people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were 16 people living at the service.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability and or who are autistic.

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

Right Support: People’s independence was promoted by the provider and staff. The provider had maintained a consistency in staff who worked with people and this meant people were supported by staff who knew them well. People were encouraged and supported to express their choices and we observed people being supported to access the community and activities. We observed staff skillfully managing situations where people expressed anxiety or periods of time where they felt upset.

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. People and relatives told us support was provided safely. Staff understood how to protect and promote people’s privacy and dignity. Staff varied their approach to working and communicating with people and demonstrated an understanding of people’s preferred way of communication. People’s medicines were managed safely and we observed peoples as required (PRN) medication was reviewed regularly. When accidents and incidents occurred information was recorded accurately and later analysed by registered managers to identify any trends or areas of staff practice which could develop.

Right Culture: Staff feedback on working in partnership with the provider was positive and staff felt they were supported by a strong management team. Two registered managers were in post one [registered manager 1] to oversee the management of the Woodseats service and the other [registered manager 2] to oversee the management of the Norton service. They told us they tried to arrange absences from work to ensure there was always a registered manager across both services. The provider had a robust auditing system in place and registered managers evidenced consistent checks and oversight of practice in all areas. In some areas this had not always been captured in an audit template; however, we reviewed evidence of data being collected and analysed and checks being completed.

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 30 July 2019)

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to safeguarding, closed cultures and staffing. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe, effective and well-led sections of this full report.

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 as 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 Woodseats and Norton on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.