Woodland Manor Care Home

Woodland Manor Care Home accommodates 64 people across four separate units. Two units provide residential care and two units provide nursing care. The service supports people living with dementia. The home is purpose built, with all bedrooms having an en-suite shower, shared communal dining and sitting room facilities. It has a separate dining room for special occasions, a cafe bistro at the entrance to the home, a cinema and activity room which is accessible to people.

Systems were in place to keep people safe. Risks to them were identified and managed. Safe medicine practices were promoted, and measures were in place to prevent cross infection. Accidents and incidents were monitored, and systems were in place to promote learning from accidents/incidents and prevent reoccurrence. Staff were suitably recruited, deployed and the required staffing levels were maintained. The shifts were managed, and tasks were allocated which resulted in people getting the required care in a timely manner.

People were supported by staff who were suitably inducted, trained and supported. The training and induction was tailored to different roles and regular monitoring of staff practice took place to ensure the training was embedded into practice. The management team had a presence on the units and assisted on shifts which further supported staff. People's health and nutritional needs were identified and met, and they had access to health professionals to further promote their well-being. 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; Whilst systems and policies were in place to support this the registered manager had identified that further training was needed.

We did not review the caring domain at this inspection. However, we observed staff were kind, caring, gentle and responsive to people's needs. People and relatives were complimentary of individual staff and gave examples where they felt they had gone the extra mile in relation to supporting them and their family member.

Person centred care was promoted and continued to be developed. People's care, support and communication needs were identified and met. People had access to one to one and group activities and the activity team had supported people and their relatives to keep in touch during the pandemic. People's end of life wishes, and preferences were identified, where the person and their family members had participated in that discussion. The service was supporting people on end of life care and staff had been trained and supported in that role. Systems were in place to deal with concerns and complaints. Some relatives raised concerns with us about their experiences of care. We have directed them to the provider to explore further.

People were supported by a service that was well managed and monitored. The registered manager had worked incredibly hard to improve the service and bring about positive changes and processes. They had built a strong management team to support them. As a result, communication, team work and staff morale had improved which resulted in positive outcomes for people. Regular auditing and reviewing of practices and processes took place which enabled the registered manager to have oversight of what areas needed further improvement.

People and the majority of relatives were positive about the improvements the registered manager had brought to the service. They described the registered manager as "accessible", "approachable", "honest", "listens and provides clarity'. A relative commented "I think the home is extremely well managed. I have found [registered managers name] firm but caring. She explains herself clearly, she is very hardworking, dedicated to her job and goes that extra mile. I am happy to trust my mother's care to a home managed by her".

Staff described the registered manager as "firm", "fair", "friendly", "knowledgeable", "experienced and professional'. A staff member told us they, "Felt happier, better supported, appreciated, valued and clear of what was expected from them." Another staff member commented, "It is more friendly here now. Staff work well as a team. Morale is good and staff feel like they can progress. Everyone gets the opportunity."