The Woodlands Care Home

Updated 6 March 2021

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice was safe, and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 11 February 2021 and was announced.

Updated 6 March 2021

About the service: The Woodlands Care Home is a residential care home that provides personal and nursing care for up to 40 people. At the time of our inspection 38 people were using the service, 19 people were receiving nursing care.

People’s experience of using this service:

People that we spoke to said that The Woodlands Care Home was a good place to live and that staff treated them well with kindness, respect and patience.

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.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and staff told us that they worked well together as a team. People told us that staff were kind and caring and treated them respectfully.

People’s health and social care needs were managed well and people were referred on to health professionals should they need specialist attention. There were positive relationships with professionals which supported people’s overall wellbeing.

Medicine was administered safely and there were clear protocols in place for medicine which was taken when required. Records were kept up to date and Medication administration records (MAR) were all correct and checked by staff and the registered manager.

The registered manager showed evidence of ongoing quality monitoring across all aspects of the service. Any concerns raised by residents’ relatives or staff were investigated and addressed. This was also used to inform improved practises throughout the home.

People had enough to eat and drink. People were offered choices and had an input into the menu planning. The lunchtime experience was relaxed, and staff were assisting with serving meals and assisting people where necessary.

There were a variety of activities both to keep people occupied and entertain them and physical activities to assist with people’s mobility. There was an activity co-ordinator employed at the home and they also engaged with local churches to ensure people had their religious needs met.

There was a focus on improving end of life care and the registered manager had refurbished a room for relatives to stay when people were receiving palliative care. The registered manager had plans to make improvements to the home and make it more person centred.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection on 11 March 2017 The Woodlands Care Home was rated as Good at this inspection the home remains the same.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Follow up: We will monitor all intelligence received about the service to inform the assessment of the risk profile of the service and to ensure the next planned inspection is scheduled accordingly.