Stockwood House

Updated 4 February 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

We received information of concern about infection prevention and control measures and staffing at this service. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 6 January 2022 and was unannounced.

Updated 4 February 2022

About the service:

Stockwood House is a care home which provides care and support for up to six people with eating disorders. The service is one of a few specialist care homes of its kind across the country. At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting five people. Three people were present on the day of the inspection and two were away on planned leave.

People's experience of using this service:

We received extremely positive feedback about the service and the care people received. People and professionals commented positively about the effectiveness and responsiveness of the support people received. There was evidence people achieved good care outcomes and their comments about the service supported this. People and professionals’ comments about the service were beautifully summarised in an email to the provider by a professional. They said, “I just wanted to let you know that I just had the most joyful telephone conversation with [person]. I want to thank you for the work that you are doing with [person] and I wanted to let you know that [person] clearly appreciates the opportunity to work towards recovery with you.”

The service met the characteristics of Outstanding rating in effective and responsive. Safe, caring and well-led were rated good.

People were protected from harm by staff who were trained to identify and report concerns. People were safe because potential risks to their health and wellbeing had been managed well. There were enough staff to support people safely. People were supported to take their medicines. Lessons were learnt from incidents to prevent recurrence. Staff followed effective processes to prevent the spread of infections.

The provider worked extremely hard to ensure people received effective care to meet their needs. People were supported by very skilled and knowledgeable staff who had completed the provider's mandatory training and additional training in relevant areas. The provider invested in having a highly skilled team, who supported people to meet their holistic needs. Staff practice was supported by good practice guidance and research. People achieved good care outcomes as a result of the support provided by the service.

Staff had respectful, caring and friendly relationships with people they supported. Staff upheld people's dignity and privacy, and they promoted their independence.

People received exceptionally personalised care and support which met their needs, reflected their

preferences and promoted their wellbeing. People felt they mattered and the service helped them to overcome their illnesses, as well as, to develop in other areas of their lives too.

There was a positive, open and empowering culture. Staff roles and responsibilities were clear, and staff were supported and encouraged to use creative and individualised methods to support people to achieve their personal goals. People were very proud of their achievements and were looking forward to a better future. The provider’s quality monitoring processes had greatly improved and they now evidenced more what they did to continually improve the service.

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was good (published 28 February 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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk