Washwood Healthcare Service

The purpose of the assessment was to follow up on a previous warning notice issued at the last inspection in March 2020 and any improvements made. The service had an aged rating of requires improvement; therefore, we have assessed the service against all the quality statements in the key questions of safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed autistic people and people with a learning disabilityrespect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted.

At the last inspection (March 2020) a warning notice had been issued due to poor infection control practice and the environment. At this assessment, we found the issues identified in the warning notice had been addressed. Work had been completed to make the necessary improvements to the environment. However, there were some areas within the home that could benefit from additional cleaning. This was brought to the attention of the registered manager and measures were taken immediately to address the areas we had identified.

Some improvements were required in how medicines were managed. There were some issues identified with out-of-date medications, timed medications (medicines that should be administered at specific times), no risk assessments for people prescribed blood thinning medication and the room temperature where medication, for daily use, was stored. All the issues were shared with the registered manager and provider and were rectified promptly on the same day we were on site.

Staff received regular competency assessments of their skills and knowledge to administer medication to people. Protocols for people taking medication required as and when were in place with clear instructions for staff on when to administer the medication.

The registered manager and provider encouraged a learning culture. For example, regular feedback was shared with staff when things had gone wrong. There were safe systems in place to make sure information was provided for hospital/care home staff to support people safely through the transition to another service. Staff knew how to keep people safe from risk of harm and potential abuse. There were processes in place for staff to report any concerns they might have about people’s safety. There were effective processes in place to make sure staff were recruited safely and were able to support people with their individual care needs. At the time of our assessment, there were no concerns observed or raised with us regarding the number of staff on duty to support people.

Peoples’ needs were assessed and regularly reviewed to continue delivering care and treatment to meet their needs. The service had developed good support networks with agencies such as mental health teams, social services, GP, advocacy services and district nurses, which supported and encouraged people to lead healthier lives. Staff understood the importance of gaining consent from people before supporting them and staff we spoke with gave clear examples of their understanding of supporting people with limited capacity to make their own decisions. Regular reviews with people and their family members helped to monitor outcomes for people to improve their lives.

We saw staff treated people with kindness, compassion and dignity and treated people as individuals. Staff supported people to maintain some independence offering choice and control, as much as possible, with their support and care. When people required support and help the staff and service were prompt to respond to people’s individual needs. The staff we spoke with were all complimentary about the management team and felt supported in their work.

People’s care was tailored to be person centred. Care plans and risk assessments were regularly reviewed to make sure they were up to date and accurately reflected people’s individual needs.

Staff told us the service was well led. We found there were processes in place to monitor the service and continue making improvements where needed. Staff felt listened to and were actively engaged with the service through regular supervisions and team meetings where they could share good practice, ideas and any lessons learnt.

The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to infection control practice. At this assessment, we found the provider was no longer in breach of this regulation and the requirements of the warning notice had been met.