11 July 2023
During a routine inspection
Walton Park Care Home is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care support to up to 35 people. The home provides support to older people living with physical and health related support needs, some of whom also live with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 23 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
There were multiple changes in the management team in the home and a new home manager had started not long before the inspection. Governance and oversight processes in place had overall improved but were not yet fully embedded and effective. Although improvements had been made to the care people were receiving, the home and its culture, not all actions had been completed yet and some audits were not yet fully effective in identifying issues promptly.
People and their relatives told us the home was safe. Staff were recruited safely, there was enough staff to meet people’s needs and consistency of the staff team had improved since the last inspection. People were safely supported around their medicines, individual risks and infection prevention and control.
Staff knew people’s needs and risks and any individual changes were discussed with people, their representatives and healthcare professionals to find best ways to support them safely. People had individual care plans in place and staff were trained to provide the care they needed. People received personalised care and support and had regular opportunities to express their wishes.
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 supported to host visitors and the offer of things to do and home events was being reviewed and improved at the time of the inspection. The home environment continued to improve with an extensive refurbishment work underway.
People and their relatives told us staff were caring, compassionate and respectful. Staff felt supported by the home management and listened to. The home worked with other health and social care professionals.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 28 February 2023).
The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.
At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
At our last inspection we recommended the provider to review the way they had recorded MCA and 'best interest decisions' to ensure the records clearly indicated how the MCA Code of Practice had been followed. At this inspection we found the provider had made improvements.
Why we inspected
This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.