Westside Care Home

Updated 25 February 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and one Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Westside Care Home is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Westside Care Home is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 11 January 2023 and ended on 19 January 2023. We visited the location's service on 11 January 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We also used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people and 4 relatives. We also spoke with 8 staff, including the registered manager, area manager, nominated individual, nurses and care workers. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed a range of records. This included 6 people's care records and 3 staff files. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were also reviewed.

Updated 25 February 2023

About the service

Westside Care Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 30 people. At the time of our inspection there were 22 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People received safe care and treatment. There were systems and processes in place for monitoring and managing risks to people. Some people's risk assessments and care plans lacked sufficiently specific and detailed information for staff in some areas. However, no one had been harmed and staff knew people and their needs well, so people received appropriate and safe care and support. During our inspection the registered manager updated those areas of some people’s risk assessments and care plans that required more specific and detailed information and after our inspection the provider sent us evidence these records had been updated with the required level of information.

People received their medicines safely. Staff received medicines administration training and we saw medicines administration records were completed. The stock count of medicines had not always been recorded and was not always accurate. This potentially made it more difficult for the provider to check whether people always received their medicines. However, no one had been harmed and people had received their medicines as prescribed. After our inspection the provider sent us evidence of new procedures they had put in place to help make their medicines audits more effective.

At the time of our inspection there were still some visiting restrictions in place. We spoke with the provider about this and discussed the current national guidance for visiting people in care homes. As a result, the provider reviewed the visiting restrictions in place and decided they could be removed.

There were systems and processes in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Staff knew how to protect people from abuse and how to report abuse. People told us they felt safe living here and their families said they felt their relatives were safe here.

The service worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act and if needed, appropriate legal authorisations were in place to deprive a person of their liberty.

There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs and staff recruitment followed safer recruitment practice.

Infection prevention and control followed best practice and we were assured the provider was responding effectively to risks and signs of infection and was making sure infection outbreaks could be effectively prevented or managed.

Staff knew how to report and record accidents and incidents and there were systems and processes in place to identify learning and share lessons when things went wrong.

Managers and staff were clear about their roles, they understood regulatory requirements and there were quality assurance systems in place. However, not all the audits carried out were always effective. The provider had not identified the issues we found during our inspection. After our inspection the provider sent us evidence of new systems and processes they had put in place to help make their audits more effective.

There was a positive culture that was person-centred, open, inclusive and empowering and the provider engaged and involved people, their relatives and staff in the development of the service.

There were systems and processes in place to support continuous learning and improvement of the service and staff worked effectively in partnership with other professionals, agencies and organisations to meet people’s needs.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 28 October 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection.

However, we have found evidence the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the well-led section of this report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Westside Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.