Archived: Widnes Hall

Updated 25 March 2020

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by an inspector, an assistant inspector and an Expert by Experience on the first day. An Expert-by-Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service, their area of expertise is dementia care. An inspector carried out the inspection on the second day.

Service and service type

Widnes Hall 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 this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided .

Notice of inspection

The first day of the inspection was unannounced and the second day was announced.

What we did before inspection

Prior to the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service and notifications we had received. A notification is information about important events which the registered provider is required to send us by law. We also reviewed the Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR provides key information about the service, what the service does well and the improvements the registered provider plan to make.

We contacted local authority commissioners and safeguarding teams and Halton Healthwatch for information about the service and they raised no concerns. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and seven relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with members of staff including the registered manager, district manager, team leader and care workers. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 25 March 2020

About the service

Widnes Hall is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 63 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 68 people.

Widnes Hall accommodates people across four separate units, each of which has separate adapted facilities. Two of the units specialise in providing care to people living with dementia.

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

Social interaction and activities were considered to be an important part in people’s day to day lives. Activity champions had an incredible passion for ensuring people were able to pursue their interests and hobbies, as well as taking part in new experiences. People had returned to their place of work and visited work related places, such as the local rugby club and aircraft museum.

The variety of activities provided was outstanding. There were many excellent examples of person-centred activities taking place, both in and out of the home, with holidays and activities with other care homes, encouraging new experiences and opportunities for new friendships. People said, “They do a lot of activities here, both inside and outside the home” and “The staff seem to be really good at helping people out and ensuring that no one is forgotten”.

People spoke highly of the care they received from staff who knew them very well. Staff were described as caring and people said they were treated as individuals with kindness and compassion and were encouraged to retain their independence. A person told us, “In my view this home is perfect, it is just a very caring place.”

The leadership of the service promoted a positive culture that was person-centred and inclusive. We received positive feedback about the quality and safety of care people received and the overall management of the service from people and their relatives. The registered manager and the staff team showed a desire to improve the service provided and in turn the quality of life experiences for the people living at Widnes Hall. People and staff had experienced a positive change in the home since the arrival of the new registered manager.

People said they felt safe living at Widnes Hall. There were enough staff to support people when they needed assistance. People received their medicines at the times they needed them and had ready access to healthcare professionals as and when required. The environment was regularly checked and well maintained.

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.

People were encouraged to provide their views and opinions about the home and care provided through meetings and questionnaires; these helped to drive continuous improvements. The home completed a range of audits and quality monitoring processes to help support this process.

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 25 August 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.