Woodlea Care Home

Woodlea is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 34 people. At the time of our inspection there were 31 people using the service. Some people were living with dementia.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

People were supported by staff who were kind, caring and supported them to meet their needs. The atmosphere in the home was calm, relaxing and very homely and people enjoyed living at the home. Staff supported people to make decisions about their care such as what to eat, drink and where they would like to sit. People and their relatives were happy with the care and support they received. People were happy and comfortable living at the home.

Risks associated with people's care were identified and managed to keep people safe. Care plans were detailed and provided staff with clear instructions to carry out their role safely and in line with people's needs. Building maintenance was carried out in line with requirements.

The home was clean and well maintained. There were sufficient staff available to meet people's needs and keep them safe. The provider had a robust recruitment process to ensure suitable staff were employed. People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse and staff were trained and supported to identify and report incidents. People received their medicines as prescribed by staff who were trained and competent to administer medication.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The registered manager and staff team understood their roles and responsibilities and was supported by a support manager and area manager.

A series of audits were completed on a monthly basis and where issues were identified, action plans were in place to ensure concerns were actioned in a timely way.

People were asked their opinion about the service at meetings and as part of a quality questionnaire which was carried out on an annual basis.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 15 November 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, caring and well-led only. For those key question not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Woodlea Care Home 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.

We found the following examples of good practice.

The service had dedicated staff to ensure people were received safely and continued to be supported in the service in accordance with national guidance. Staff at Woodlea supported people and their relatives to understand the policies and procedures surrounding protection against COVID 19, the isolation processes and how the service could help them to keep people safe.

Social media applications, such as mobile phones and computer systems were used to maintain contact between people and their relatives. During our visit we observed the staff using Personal Protective Equipment, (PPE) safely.

The manager told us sufficient stocks of PPE were available and our observations confirmed this. A staff member told us, "We are never short of PPE."

People living in the home and staff were tested regularly for COVID-19. There were no staff employed who had not been vaccinated.

The home was clean and hygienic. Cleaning schedules were in place and PPE stations placed around the home. Additional cleaning protocols were in place to ensure all areas of the building were regularly sanitised.

We found the following examples of good practice.

People are given the option to eat meals in a number of different areas to help them to socially distance.

Additional deep cleaning was in place, including an increase in cleaning of high touch points.

Accessible information had been provided to people so they knew the reason for staff needing to wear masks, to help reassure them. Where people are unable to retain information, staff reassured people who may become anxious.

The registered manager was carrying out staff observations and competency assessments on infection control to assess staff knowledge and understanding.

The provider uses an electronic care records system, which sends automatic prompts to staff on IPC. For example, reminders to encourage people to wash hands before and after meals.

The provider is creative with space by converting an empty ground floor room into a visitor’s area, which will have separate garden access and an intercom system. When completed, this will provide visitors with a private and safe environment to meet with their loved ones.

The provider has conducted analysis into the details of the outbreak of covid, to enable learning and improvement.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Woodlea is a care home which provides accommodation for up to 34 older people who require personal care. The service is located on Bawtry Road Bessacarr, a suburb of Doncaster. At the time of our inspection there were 29 people living in the home.

The home had a registered manager who had been registered with CQC since 2014. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People we spoke with told us they felt safe living in the home. Staff we spoke with were knowledgeable on safeguarding people.

People were cared for by sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff. Staff employed at the home had been recruited in a way that helped to keep people safe, because thorough checks were completed prior to them being offered a post.

People’s needs were assessed and care and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual care needs. People received their medicines at the right time and in the right way to meet their needs. Healthcare professionals, such as chiropodists, opticians, GPs and dentists were involved in people's care when necessary.

People were provided with a choice of healthy food and drink ensuring their nutritional needs were met and meal times were an enjoyable experience for people.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

People were supported by staff who had received an induction into the service and appropriate training, professional development and supervision to enable them to meet people's individual needs.

Staff were able to meet people's needs and to engage with people in a relaxed and unhurried manner. Staff knew how to respect people’s privacy and dignity.

Opportunities were provided for people to engage in activities.

Everyone we spoke with felt the home was well-led and spoke positively about the culture and management of the service. They were also supported to raise complaints should they wish to.

People were particularly complimentary about the new registered provider, who they said visited regularly, took an interest in everyone’s welfare and had invested a lot in making the home a very comfortable and pleasant place for people to live in

The management team regularly reviewed the quality of the service. Reports produced for these audits included any actions required and these were checked by senior managers to monitor the progress of any improvements.