Archived: Wolborough Court

Updated 26 April 2017

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 was 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 unannounced inspection took place on the 21 and 22 February 2017 and was carried out by one adult social care inspector.

The provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at the information in the PIR as well as other information we held about the home before the inspection visit such as statutory notifications. Statutory notifications are changes or events that occur at the service which the provider has a legal duty to inform us about.

We contacted the local authority Quality and Improvement Team and health care professionals. We used all of this information to plan how the inspection should be conducted.

During the inspection we looked around the home and observed the way staff interacted with people to help us understand the experience of people who lived there. During the inspection we spoke with nine people living at the home. We also spoke with four relatives who were visiting. We spoke with four members of staff, the chef and the laundry assistant. In addition, we spoke with the registered manager and deputy manager who were supported by two senior managers. We were joined by the registered provider on the second day of the inspection.

We looked at the care plans, records and daily notes for four people with a range of needs, and sampled other care plans for specific information. We looked at policies and procedures in relation to the operation of the home, such as the safeguarding and complaints policies, audits and quality assurance reports. We also looked at three staff files to check that the home were operating a full recruitment procedure, comprehensive training and provided regular supervision and appraisal of staff.

Updated 26 April 2017

This unannounced inspection took place on 21 and 22 February 2017.

Wolborough Court provides accommodation and care for up to 25 people. People living at the home are older people, some of whom were living with dementia or a physical disability. On the day of the inspection, 23 people were living at the home.

The home had a registered manager. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they were happy living at Wolborough Court. People at the home reacted positively to the registered manager and the culture within the home supported a warm and friendly atmosphere. People received support from staff that treated them well and prioritised their needs. People were relaxed and comfortable around staff and staff understood the need to maintain people's dignity. People were supported to maintain good relationships with people that were important to them.

People felt safe living at the home. Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns. Staffing levels ensured people received the support they required to keep them safe and recruitment procedures protected people from receiving unsafe care from care staff unsuited to the job.

Staff had the relevant knowledge and skills to support people. Staff received regular supervision and appraisal meetings to monitor their performance and professional development. Staff used feedback from these meetings to improve their practice. Staff received on-going training to enable them meet people's needs.

Care plans described the support people required and explained people's preferences and routines. People were given choices about how and where they spent their time and this was respected by staff. People were actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs.

People's care plans included risk assessments of activities associated with their personal care and support routines. The risk assessments provided information for staff that enabled them to support people safely but without restricting their independence.

The registered manager understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2015. Staff had awareness of the MCA and understood they could provide care and support only if a person consented to it and if the proper safeguards were put in place to protect their rights. There were people at Wolborough Court who were being cared for under Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

People enjoyed the food and were supported to maintain a healthy diet. They could choose what they ate and their preferences and requirements were known and met by staff.

People were supported to take their medicines in a safe and timely manner by competent staff. Medicines were stored, recorded and disposed of safely and appropriately.

There was a complaints procedure in place and people were supported and empowered to make a complaint if they wished to. Complaints were investigated and appropriate actions were taken.

The provider and registered manager had ensured there were effective systems for governance, quality assurance and ensuring safe care for people. They demonstrated good leadership, and there was a clear ethos for the service, which was understood and put into practice by the staff. Systems for quality assurance included seeking the views of people living at the home, their relatives and staff about what could be improved and what was working well for them. This was done through questionnaires and regular meetings. Information for people was displayed in the home and included leaflets about people's rights and standards people should expect.

People lived in a safe environment. Rooms were decorated to individual taste and people could choose what items to keep there.

Records were well maintained, and notifications had been sent to CQC or other agencies as required by law.