About the service Wood Dene is a ‘care home’ that provides care and support for up to 8 younger adults who have learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder and mental health needs.
CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.
The service demonstrated they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
Right Support
Wood Dene was located in an area that enabled people to access community facilities as well as countryside walks. The registered provider ensured there was a culture of person-centred care and support. People and those important to them, including social care professionals, were involved in planning their care. The registered manager and the staff team ensured people received support based on best practice, respect and inclusivity. Overall, Wood Dene provided an environment and service that was safe, and people told us they felt safe living there.
We have made a recommendation about the review of some people’s risk assessments and care plans.
Right Care
People received person-centred care, which promoted their privacy, dignity and human rights. 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. Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. People were well supported with access to health and social care services. There were enough suitably recruited and trained staff to support people to carry out their daily living activities and pursue their hobbies and interests. People enjoyed full and active lives.
Right culture
People living at Wood Dene were engaged and involved in developing and improving the service. The culture was open, honest and positive. The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of the interim manager and staff team ensured people lead confident, and empowered lives. The provider had a clearly defined vision and values which staff understood and followed. Staff promoted a safe and consistent atmosphere, which met people's individual needs. Staff knew their responsibilities and were confident to report any concerns to the provider.
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 3 April 2020). We have made a recommendation about the review of some people’s risk assessments and care plans.
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about care planning and review. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern.
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.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
The overall rating for the service remains good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Wood Dene 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.