Weald Heights

Weald Heights is a purpose built residential and respite care home providing personal and nursing care to 68 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 80 people across three floors each of which has separate facilities and are accessible via a passenger lift. The service has its own coffee shop, hair salon, cinema and library. One of the floors specialises in providing care to people living with dementia.

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

People were safe and well cared for by safely recruited and trained staff who knew them well. All feedback from people, relatives and staff was positive and no concerns were found. We asked staff if they would be happy for their relative to live in the home and in response one staff member said, “I would definitely put a relative in this home, in fact, I have recommended it to people.”

All risks to people, including any from the environment were well managed and staff knew how to keep people safe. There were enough staff to ensure people’s safety and meet people’s needs. People received their medicines as prescribed. Immediate action was taken in response to any accidents and incidents and lessons were learnt to prevent reoccurrence. Staff had managed well during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The service was well managed with strong quality assurance systems in place which ensured any improvements needed were identified and actioned. There was a positive person-centred culture in the home. All the people we spoke with told us they were happy living there and staff we spoke with told us they were happy working there. People, relatives and staff were engaged with the service and staff worked with health care professionals and their local communities to meet people’s needs and offer them a good quality of life.

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 13 September 2018).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the management culture in the home and quality of care. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

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.

The overall rating for the service has not changed. This is based on the findings at this inspection. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Weald Heights on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Weald Heights is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Weald Heights is a purpose built care home registered to provide accommodation and nursing care to up to 80 adults. Weald Heights provides nursing and residential care, short term respite care plus specialist care for older people living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Weald Heights has three floors, all of which has access to a secure outside space, and were accessed via a passenger lift. The service has its own coffee shop, hair salon, cinema and library which people were able to access. At the time of the inspection there were 38 people living at the service.

The service had a registered manager in post who had worked at Weald Heights since its registration. 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. The registered manager was supported by a deputy manager, clinical lead for the service and a senior management team.

People felt safe and were protected from the potential risk of harm and abuse. Staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding people and followed the provider’s policy and procedure. People’s personal belongings were protected from the potential risk of theft. Potential risks to people had been assessed and steps were taken to reduce any risks. The premises were well maintained and equipment had been regularly serviced to ensure it was in good working order.

There were enough staff deployed on each floor to meet people’s needs. People told us staff were available and came to their assistance when required. The provider operated safe and robust recruitment and selection procedures to make sure staff were suitable and safe to work with people.

People received a personalised, person centred service which was responsive to their needs. People and/or their relatives were involved in the development and review of their care plan. Guidance was in place to inform staff of how to meet people’s needs whilst encouraging and promoting their independence.

People’s nutrition and hydration needs were assessed and recorded. People had access to food they enjoyed and their specific dietary requirements were catered for. Staff worked alongside health care professionals to ensure people remained as healthy as possible.

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

Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity. Interactions between staff and people were caring and kind. Staff knew people well and had knowledge about people’s histories, likes and dislikes. People’s equality, diversity and human rights were promoted and respected.

People received their medicines safely as prescribed by their GP. There were systems in place to ensure that medicines had been stored, administered, audited and reviewed regularly. People were protected by the prevention and control of infection where possible, with systems in place to ensure the risk of contamination were minimised. Guidance was available for staff to follow to maintain people’s safety in the event of an emergency.

People were offered the opportunity to participate in a range of activities to meet their needs and interests. The views of people and others were sought and acted on. People knew who to speak to if they were unhappy. Complaints were managed in line with the provider’s policy; complaints were used as a way to learn and improve the service that was provided to people.

Accidents and incidents were monitored and managed effectively.

Staff at all levels were given the training, skills and confidence to meet people’s needs. Staff were supported in their role by the registered manager and the management team, this included clinical support and supervision for the registered nurses.

Effective systems were in place to enable the provider and the management team to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service. Records were maintained adequately and kept securely.

The registered manager worked in partnership with external organisations to promote best practice and to develop and promote a positive culture between the local community, staff and relatives supporting people that had dementia.

The registered manager and the management team understood their responsibility of registration with us and notified us of important events that occurred at the service; this meant we could check appropriate action had been taken.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.