West Hall is a large care home for older people, some who are living with dementia. The home consists of a main ‘manor house’ which has communal areas such as a dining area and recreational facilities. There are three separate self-contained purpose built lodges within the grounds. Each lodge has their own kitchen, dining and lounge areas and is managed by a deputy manager. On the day of the inspection 81 people were living at West Hall.This was an unannounced inspection that took place on 30 June 2016.
The home had a registered manager. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. We were assisted by the registered manager, the general manager and the deputy managers during our inspection.
People were extremely satisfied with the care they received and could not speak highly enough about the staff. People told us they were treated with the utmost respect and kindness and were at the heart of the home. People were made to feel as though they mattered and staff took time to get to know people in order to develop close relationships with them. The skills staff had learnt through working with external providers had a positive impact on people’s well-being and daily lives.
People and their relatives felt involved in their care planning and in control of the care they received. Care plans were comprehensive and written in a person-centred way. Accidents and incidents were monitored and people provided with suitable aids to help ensure that further accidents did not happen.
The premises were designed in a way that was suitable for people living with dementia. The grounds were easily accessible to people. People’s individual rooms were personalised and included tailored signposting so people could identify their own room.
There was a wide variety of activities for people to participate in both within and outside of the home. Activities were individualised and meaningful to people and designed around people’s own interests and hobbies. Staff ensured people received a nutritious, balanced diet and people who required it were supported to eat their meals. People were very happy with the quality of their meals and said they were given enough to eat and drink.
There were procedures and risk assessments in place that staff implemented to reduce the risk of harm to people. This included staff’s understanding of the signs of abuse. Staff understood the main principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS).
People received their medicines safely and the premises were designed in such a way that they were safe for people. There were a sufficient number of staff on duty which meant people did not have to wait for their care. In the event of an emergency there were suitable arrangements in place to help ensure people’s care continued uninterrupted.
People were cared for by staff who were recruited through a thorough recruitment process. Appropriate checks were carried out on applicants before they began to work with people. The majority of staff were experienced care workers who had the skills, knowledge and experience to care for people safely. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities and were supported by the management through relevant training and supervision.
People’s healthcare needs were met by suitably qualified staff as people had access to healthcare professionals who regularly visited the home.
There were systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of care people received. People felt able to express their views and told us the management and staff were responsive to their complaints and comments.
Quality assurance procedures were robust and any actions identified through routine audits were acted upon promptly.
Staff enjoyed working at West Hall and felt management was open and approachable. Staff were encouraged to participate in the running of the home and any suggestions they made were listened to.