We carried out a review of the data available to us about Windy Ridge Care Home on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Windy Ridge Care Home, you can give feedback on this service.
Windy Ridge Care Home is a nursing home, providing personal and nursing care to older people, some of whom are living with dementia, aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 21 people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and relatives consistently told us the registered manager and staff were excellent. The home was exceptionally well run. They said it was ‘One of a kind” and said there was “No place like it.”
There was an extremely strong focus on person centred care which provided exceptional health outcomes for people. The use of nationally recognised monitoring tools helped provide an early warning to staff, for example, of possible infection, such as sepsis. Relatives told us the care was excellent and the staff provided “Immaculate care” and “Amazing care”.
The home specialised in assessing and supporting people who were hard to place due to their advanced dementia, complex behaviours and mental health needs, or where previous placements had ended due to their increasing complex needs.
Staff received excellent support with their learning and development. A broad range of key and specific training was delivered to staff in house and tailored to the needs of people living in the home. External progression opportunities and personal development were encouraged and funded by the provider.
Staff maintained an extremely strong focus on the importance of supporting people to eat and drink a varied diet which met their specific nutritional needs and preferences and achieved positive health outcomes. One relative told us, “Within weeks [of moving to the home] her bed sores had gone and she was eating. I’m not sure how they did it!”
We observed consistently kind and compassionate care from staff who were observant and focussed on people’s wellbeing. A visitor told us staff “Just seemed to know exactly what to say.” Respect for people’s privacy, dignity and independence was embedded within the culture of the home. A staff member told us, “This is the residents’ home. We’re the guests”.
Relatives consistently told us they were extremely happy with the way they and their family members were treated. One relative told us, “Other homes are not like this one. I would highly recommend it. I wouldn’t mind booking my place!” People were encouraged to maintain important relationships and staff facilitated this by providing a welcoming environment and making private space for people to receive their visitors.
The registered manager had developed exceptionally strong working relationships with other agencies and local organisations to maximise opportunities for staff development and develop initiatives for continuous improvement of care delivery.
Provider oversight was embedded in the governance of the home. There was a strong culture of joint ownership within the whole staff team and senior management to achieve exceptional outcomes for people through effective team work, feedback, governance and improvement.
People were safeguarded from abuse. Staff understood how to identify abuse and how to report any concerns. Medicines were well managed. People received their medicines as prescribed by staff who were training and competent to do so.
Staff recruitment procedures were robust and there were sufficient staff deployed to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.
Risks to people had been identified and actions taken to minimise any risks. The home was clean and tidy. Staff used appropriate personal protective equipment appropriately. Incidents and accidents were investigated and lessons learnt to reduce the risk of further occurrences.
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.
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 August 2016)
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Windy Ridge Care Home is a care home for older people, some of whom are living with dementia. The home is registered to provide nursing care, personal care and accommodation for up to 21 people. At the time of our inspection there were 21 people living at Windy Ridge. The home is set in well maintained gardens and consists of a main house with a large conservatory which acts as a lounge and dining room and is decorated to meet the needs of people with dementia.
The service had a registered manager in place. 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 told us they felt safe. Individualised risks were assessed and there was effective maintenance of the premises. Staff had good knowledge of medicines and there were systems in place to manage, record and administer medicines safely.
People were protected from possible harm. Staff were knowledgeable about the home’s safeguarding processes and procedures and who to contact if they had any concerns. Staff told us they felt they would be taken seriously and concerns would be acted upon.
The provider operated effective recruitment and retention processes. Relevant checks were carried out before staff were employed. There were sufficient staff deployed to provide person centred care and keep people safe. Staff were supported in their roles with on-going training, supervision and appraisals.
People living at the home, their visitors and health care professionals were positive about the management of the home. There was an open culture and a clear management structure, with systems to monitor the quality of care and deliver improvements. Staff told us they felt supported and were involved in the development of the home.
There was a strong focus on personalised care, in line with people’s needs and preferences. Staff interacted positively with people and were caring and kind and respected their dignity. The home was welcoming and thought had been given to the environment to help people with dementia with orientation around the home.
People were supported to maintain their health and specialist medical advice and treatment was sought promptly when required. A range of health professionals were involved in people’s care including GPs, speech and language therapists and opticians.
Staff encouraged people to maintain their independence, to make decisions and to have as much control over their lives as possible. The staff had good natured encounters with people, seemed to know them well, and had time to sit and chat with them. There was a range of activities on offer throughout the week. Most activities took place within the home, such as singing, physical games and quiz games.
People were offered a varied diet, prepared in a way that met their specific needs. Important information, such as their likes and dislikes and allergies, was known by staff. Staff patiently assisted and encouraged people to eat if they needed help.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which applies to care homes. The registered manager understood this legislation and had submitted DoLS applications for people living at the home where required. Staff were aware of their responsibilities under this legislation and under the Mental Capacity Act (2005).
Quality assurance systems were in place to assess and monitor the quality of care and drive improvements. Records were regularly reviewed. Minor issues raised with records were addressed with staff by the registered manager at the time.
We last inspected the home in November 2013 when we found no concerns.
We found that people's consent about how they were cared for and supported was always sought concerning areas of their life where they could make decisions. Where people did not have the capacity to make decisions, best interest decisions were made on their behalf. Relatives or significant others were involved in 'best interest' decisions made on behalf of people.
People's needs had been assessed and care plans developed from the assessment process. Care plans were up to date, and reflected the needs of the people whose care we looked at.
The home had robust recruitment procedures in place to make sure that suitable people were employed to work at the home.
The home had effective systems in place to monitor the quality of service provided.
Records we looked at were easily accessible, up to date and accurate.
We were presented with evidence of the use of care plans and staff rota to indicate how and when the care was delivered to people. We spoke to six people using services and some of them and their relatives confirmed their awareness of having care plans and receiving the care within the care plan.
All the staff we spoke with told us that they had received or scheduled for training in recognising and reporting abuse. They knew how to recognise the signs of abuse and what to do if they had any concerns about a person's safety or welfare.
We reviewed six staff files and these evidenced records of supervision session, including where additional training was required.
All of the people told us they were happy with the quality of the service they received from the agency. They stated that their care was regularly reviewed and they knew how to raise concerns if needed and were responded to readily. Comments received on this question included "Quite good", "No criticism", and "Very good."