The Wells Nursing Home

The Wells Nursing Home is a nursing home, providing support to older people with physical and sensory impairments for up to 40 people. At the time of our assessment there were 23 people using the service.

At this assessment, we found a breach of Regulation 17, Good governance of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The environment was not always well maintained or safe, which had not been identified through the provider’s governance systems. Although quality assurance systems and processes were in place, these were ineffective in identifying the concerns we found during this assessment. The provider acted during the assessment process to address concerns identified and put in place more robust monitoring processes.

At the previous inspection, published, 11 May 2023, the provider was found to be in breach of a regulation in relation to the need for consent. This assessment found improvements had been made, and the provider was no longer in breach of this regulation. Where people lacked capacity, best interest decisions had been made in line with, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). We discussed with the registered manager and general manager; it was not always clear who had been involved in the best interest decision and staff were not clear who had a DoLS in place. Action was taken to address this.

There were enough staff to keep people safe, and staff understood their role in reporting concerns about people’s health and wellbeing. The provider was proactive in ensuring staff had the training and support they needed for their role and remained up to date with best practice guidance. Staff received regular and relevant training, this included training for registered nurses to manage people’s clinical needs.

People and families were involved in their care planning and were aware of any changes in people’s health needs.

There was a thorough recruitment process in place, including DBS (a criminal record check for employers) checks and references.

Medicines were safely managed, staff had received training and had their competency assessed regularly.

There was a clear process for reviewing accidents and incidents, ensuring appropriate staff responses and identifying trends. Where complaints had been raised the provider had followed their complaints procedure and responded appropriately.

Staff told us they felt the training at the home was good, they felt informed, valued and part of a good team and enjoyed working at the home.

The registered manager had an open-door policy and were attentive and responsive to any discussions or requests by people or their families.