Westy Hall Residential Care Home

Updated 10 February 2022

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 COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 28 January 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours' notice of the inspection.

Updated 10 February 2022

About the service

Westy Hall Residential Care Home is a ‘care home.’ People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during the inspection. The service was registered to accommodate 39 people. At the time of the inspection 38 people were receiving support.

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

At our last inspection in June 2018, we found the home was in breach of regulations in relation to ‘premises and equipment’ and ‘good governance’. During this inspection we found the service was no longer in breach of these regulations.

People told us that they were happy with the support they received. There was a friendly atmosphere. We observed kind and compassionate interactions between staff and people receiving support.

People using the service had access to a choice of menu’s and received wholesome and nutritious meals that were well presented and took into consideration each person's dietary needs.

People told us they had enjoyed activities and events that had been organised over the previous months, however they told us they would like to see a lot more going on that they could enjoy daily. A programme of activities was in place however; some people reported that they would like to see improvements in this area. We have made a recommendation about developing activities to meet the needs of people living with dementia.

Some areas of the building showed signs of wear and tear within the environment. A programme of maintenance and redecoration was in place. We have made a recommendation to develop the environment with the needs of people with cognitive impairments in mind.

Each person had an individualised care plan. People's need’s and wishes were assessed and recorded as part of their ongoing assessment. Staff were familiar with people’s likes, preferences and wishes and positive relationships had developed between staff and people receiving care.

Staff were well trained in various topics appropriate to their role. They were knowledgeable in how to safeguard people from the risk of harm and abuse and were well trained in safely managing people’s medications.

A complaints policy and process was also in place to ensure concerns and complaints were listened to and acted upon. The manager developed a simpler version following the inspection for people to use.

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.

The provider had a quality assurance system in place that included seeking the views of people who used the service and their representatives. Action plans were in place which confirmed any feedback received was listened to and acted upon.

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 1 August 2018); there were two breaches 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 improvements had been made and the provider was not in breach of regulations. The service had improved to a good rating.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.