Woodland Court

Updated 6 September 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 one Inspector, a specialist nurse adviser and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who had personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Woodland Court 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. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

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 reviewed additional information we held about the service, this included previous inspection reports and statutory notifications. A statutory notification contains information about certain incidents and events the provider is required to notify us about by law.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 members of staff. This included the registered manager, clinical and care staff. We spoke with 10 people who lived at the service and 1 person’s relative.

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 comment directly on their experiences.

We reviewed a range of records, including people’s care records, staff recruitment files, records relating to safety checks including fire safety and accident and incident records. We also reviewed medicines records and records relating to monitoring and quality assurance.

Following our site visit we contacted 4 healthcare professionals to seek their views on the service and received feedback from two of them. We spoke with a further four members of staff. We also received further clarification and documentation from the service to validate evidence found.

Updated 6 September 2023

About the service

Woodland Court is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 39 people who may also require nursing care. The service is located in a residential area of the seaside town of Torquay. On the time of our inspection, there were 21 people living at the service.

Peoples’ experience of using this service and what we found

Some people were placed at risk of unsafe care or inappropriate care and treatment. We identified care was not always planned to reduce risk and records were not always accurately maintained.

Governance systems and processes to assess, monitor and mitigate the risks relating to the health, safety and welfare of people at the service were not always fully effective.

People received their medicines as prescribed, however we have recommended the provider seeks guidance from an accredited source to ensure medication polices are reflective of published best practice and that this is fully embedded in the service.

Staffing levels in the service were safe. We received some mixed feedback in relation to staffing levels which related to the timeliness of support received at night. Staff we spoke with felt staffing levels were sufficient. Staff recruitment was completed safely.

Staff received training in safeguarding and knew about the different types of abuse. Staff were able to explain reporting processes. We were assured the service was preventing and controlling the spread of infections.

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. Where required, applications had been made to lawfully deprive people of their liberty.

People said staff were caring and treated them with dignity and respect. One person said, “I’m confident in the staff. They help me to shower. They are always respectful.”

There were processes in place to ensure that accidents and incidents were recorded and analysed to identify trends or patterns. Regular health and safety checks of the environment and equipment used within it were completed.

The provider and registered manager encouraged feedback from people, relatives and staff through questionnaires to improve the service people received. People, relatives and staff were positive about the registered manager.

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 8 December 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have made a recommendation in relation to medicines management.

The overall rating for the service has changed from Good to Requires Improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

Follow Up

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