Wayside Care Home

Updated 6 January 2024

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 1 inspector and a specialist advisor in nursing on the first day. Two inspectors and an Expert by Experience on the second 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. The Expert by Experience carried out telephone calls to people offsite.

Service and service type

Wayside Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Wayside Care Home is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority who work with the service. We also requested feedback from Healthwatch to obtain their views of the service. 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 the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people who lived at the home about their experience of the care provided and 8 relatives. We observed mealtime in the dining room to help us understand the experience of people. 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 spoke with 12 members of staff including the registered manager, the provider, who is also the nominated individual, deputy manager, clinical lead, nurses, carers, head cook, head housekeeper and maintenance person. Additionally, we spoke with an external health professional who was visiting during our inspection and spoke over the telephone with a further external health professional who regularly visits the home.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people’s care plans, risk assessments and associated information. We reviewed 5 medication records. We looked at 5 staff files in relation to recruitment, training records, staff rotas and documents in relation to the governance of the service.

Updated 6 January 2024

About the service

Wayside Care Home is a care home that provides nursing and personal care for up to 31 people within 1 large, adapted building. It provides care to people requiring general nursing care some of whom live with dementia and have physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection, 24 people were living at the home.

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

Improvements in the recording of people’s care and medication documentation had been embedded since our last inspection. The provider and registered manager were now fulfilling their regulatory responsibility to promptly notify the Care Quality Commission (CQC) when Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards had been authorised.

The home was clean, although some communal areas looked worn. There were plans in place to ensure continual improvements to the home environment were made, including redecoration.

Processes were in place to safeguard people and protect them from harm and abuse. People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed by staff who were trained in medication management and were assessed as competent to administer.

There were adequate numbers of safely recruited staff to care and support people. The provider used agency staff to cover any shortfalls in staffing levels. The registered manager pre booked agency staff in advance to ensure consistency of the same agency staff as much as possible. Risks to people had been assessed, monitored, and reviewed. People were supported to maintain a healthy and balanced diet and were given choices. Staff understood people’s dietary needs. Staff knew how to recognise and respond to signs of ill health and ensured people were supported to access the health care they needed.

People were supported by staff who helped them to be as independent as they could be. People were encouraged to maintain relationships with those important to them and to engage in activities they wanted to.

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 complaints policy in place. People and relatives were aware how to raise any concerns.

The registered manager and senior management team carried out regular audits and checks to monitor the quality of the service and care provided. Areas for improvement were identified and responded to so the service was continuously learning and developing. People and their relatives’ views were sought and considered to help drive through improvements. Staff worked in partnership with other health and social care professionals to ensure people’s needs were met.

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 requires improvement (published 27 April 2023) and there was a breach of regulation. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulation.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the management of complaints. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led sections of this full report.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Wayside 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.