Woodlea Care Home

Updated 8 December 2023

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 an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Woodlea 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. Woodlea is a care home without 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

The 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 and professionals who work with the service. 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 8 people who used the service and 4 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 6 members of staff including the registered manager and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records including 3 people’s care records including multiple medication records. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision and observed staff interacting with people.

Updated 8 December 2023

About the service

Woodlea is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 34 people. At the time of our inspection there were 31 people using the service. Some people were living with dementia.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

People were supported by staff who were kind, caring and supported them to meet their needs. The atmosphere in the home was calm, relaxing and very homely and people enjoyed living at the home. Staff supported people to make decisions about their care such as what to eat, drink and where they would like to sit. People and their relatives were happy with the care and support they received. People were happy and comfortable living at the home.

Risks associated with people's care were identified and managed to keep people safe. Care plans were detailed and provided staff with clear instructions to carry out their role safely and in line with people's needs. Building maintenance was carried out in line with requirements.

The home was clean and well maintained. There were sufficient staff available to meet people's needs and keep them safe. The provider had a robust recruitment process to ensure suitable staff were employed. People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse and staff were trained and supported to identify and report incidents. People received their medicines as prescribed by staff who were trained and competent to administer medication.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The registered manager and staff team understood their roles and responsibilities and was supported by a support manager and area manager.

A series of audits were completed on a monthly basis and where issues were identified, action plans were in place to ensure concerns were actioned in a timely way.

People were asked their opinion about the service at meetings and as part of a quality questionnaire which was carried out on an annual basis.

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 15 November 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, caring and well-led only. For those key question not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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