Woodchurch House

Woodchurch House also provides personal care for people living in their own homes, within the same accommodation. These people have a tenancy agreement and a separate agreement for their care provision. There were 43 people receiving personal care in their 'own homes'. People receiving personal care can choose to have their care provided by another care provider. However, everyone living in Woodchurch House had their care provided by staff employed by the service. The manager confirmed that everyone received the same level of care and support, so we included everyone in this inspection. We are working closely with the provider to reduce the number of people with tenancies to enable the whole service to be available for people who require accommodation with nursing or personal care.

People's risks had been assessed and documented and staff knew people well. Staff knew about the individual risks and what to do to keep people safe. Risk assessments were reviewed regularly. The service was clean and infection control was managed well.

People were protected from the risk of abuse by staff who were trained in safeguarding processes. Staff were confident to report concerns and said actions would be taken as appropriate. Medicines were managed well, and lessons were learned and shared if something went wrong.

People were involved in decisions about their care, and they received care which promoted their dignity and encouraged independence. Relatives told us they were kept up to date with any changes in their loved one's condition. One relative said, "They always let me know if they have called the doctor."

People and their relatives spoke highly of the staff, describing them as kind, caring and friendly. Staff enjoyed working at Woodchurch House and told us teamwork was good.

Quality assurance processes were in place to monitor the service and regular audits were undertaken on a range of aspects, such as medicines and infection control. A new manager was in post and staff told us they found them approachable and supportive with an open-door policy.

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.