Westdene House

Updated 9 November 2022

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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. 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 and service type

Westdene 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. Westdene 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. Inspection activity started on 11 October 2022 and ended on 14 October 2022. We visited the location’s service on 11 October 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection including the action plan submitted. We sought feedback from Healthwatch - Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. 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

During the inspection we observed support people received throughout the day. We spoke with three people who used the service about their experience of the care provided and eight relatives of people who use the service. We spoke with four health and social care professionals who regularly visited the service. We spoke with seven members of staff including the nominated individual who was also the registered manager, the operations manager, care staff and kitchen staff. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed.

Updated 9 November 2022

About the service

Westdene House is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 14 people. The service provides support to people living with dementia and age-related frailties. At the time of our inspection there were 12 people using the service.

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

Quality assurance processes were in place; however, audits of care records had not always identified some inaccuracies in some people’s care records. The inaccuracies had no negative impact to people and were rectified during the inspection. The registered manager told us of their plans to increase further monitoring of records. Other quality assurance processes were effective in identifying areas for improvement, such as, environmental checks and audits.

People told us they felt safe at the service. People appeared relaxed and spoke freely with staff and the registered manager. Staff understood their responsibilities to safeguard people from the risk of potential abuse and knew how to report concerns internally and to external professional bodies. One staff member told us, “If I saw something, I would tell the manager. If nothing changed, I would contact social care.”

People's needs were assessed, and risks associated to people’s health were mitigated. Where people had healthcare equipment, such as, catheters in situ, staff followed care plans to ensure they were supported safely and kept well hydrated. Staff received training relevant to their roles and demonstrated knowledge on how they provided safe care to people.

People received their medicines by staff who were trained and assessed as competent to administer them. Medicines were administered safely, staff carried out checks to ensure storage, documentation and administration was completed correctly. Relatives told us they were kept informed of their loved one’s changes to health and medicines. One relative said, “Staff keep me informed of any changes in [person’s] care or medication, or if they are unwell, communication is good usually by phone.”

People were supported by enough staff who knew them well. Staff told us there was enough time to spend with people, our observations confirmed this. A visiting social care professional told us, “The residents tend to be out in the social areas which is a positive. Interactions I've seen are positive, they (staff) have a good rapport with them (people), calling them by their first names. No concerns at all, the home is clean, it’s a small home so staff can be very individualised with the care they give.”

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. People were enabled to go out for walks, the local café and seafront. The registered manager had risk assessed trips out to ensure people were safe.

People were empowered to make and maintain relationships with friends and family. This was achieved by visits inside the service or people going out with their loved ones, where needed, people could contact relatives using video technology. People and their relatives told us staff and management listened to them and their opinions mattered. The registered manager held meetings and gathered views from feedback surveys. One person told us, “It's all pretty much nice. I am happy and if there were any queries, I would raise them.”

People had access to health care professional advice, staff sought advice in a timely way and followed professional’s directions. One healthcare professional told us, “They know the residents very well and they are very involved in their care. They are appropriate and reasonable with their requests. There doesn’t seem to be a huge staff turnover which is a positive sign. They are very welcoming; they follow appropriate processes.”

People were supported by a consistent staff team, led by a committed registered manager and management team. The registered manager told us they were proud of the commitment and resilience of the staffing team throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic.

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 11 December 2019) and there was a breach of regulation. 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 regulation.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 15 and 16 October 2019. A breach of legal requirements was found in relation to quality assurance checks of equipment, medicines and infection prevention and control. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions of safe, responsive 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 changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at 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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Westdene House 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.