Westport Care Home

We found the following examples of good practice. ●Safe practices were in place for visitors to the service, for example relatives and friends, health and social care professionals and maintenance contractors. The procedures to enter the building included a Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test or evidence of having taken one prior to arrival, a temperature check, scrutiny of evidence of vaccinations and applying personal protective equipment (PPE) assigned by a designated staff member at the reception area.

●Staff were provided with ample supplies of PPE, which included masks, hand sanitiser, gloves and aprons. PPE stations were positioned around the premises and clinical bins were provided to enable staff to safely dispose of used items. The management team carried out regular checks to ensure staff followed correct practices for donning and doffing PPE and maintaining meticulous hand hygiene. Staff confirmed their infection prevention and control (IPC) training was detailed and helpful.

●A regular system for testing for COVID-19 was established for people using the service and staff. Robust procedures were implemented to ensure new people were safely admitted to the service, in line with current government guidance. The service did not use agency staff, which reduced the risk of infection as it lowered the number of individuals entering and leaving the premises. Staff were trained to work in both personal care and domestic roles. This enabled the registered manager and deputy to flexibly roster employees when required to ensure people received a consistent service from staff they were familiar with.

●The provider effectively utilised easy read posters and documents to support people to understand why it was necessary for staff to wear PPE. The management team had liaised with local health and social care professionals to develop plans to sensitively support people who were living with dementia and/or people who were anxious. This included approaches to enable people to continue to walk around the premises if they found this relaxing and therapeutic, while ensuring infection risks were recognised and managed.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found