We inspected Woodward Court on 6 and 9 February 2015 and the visit was unannounced.
Woodward Court provides accommodation and personal care for a maximum of 28 older people in single rooms. Accommodation is provided on two floors in four separate units and provides a combination of respite (short term) and long term care. The home also operates a day centre. The home is situated in Allerton, a residential area of Bradford.
There was a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
We found before anyone is admitted to the service an assessment of their needs was completed. This made sure the service could meet their needs and the information was used to identify any potential risks and to formulate a care plan. People’s care records and risk assessments were kept up to date and reflected people’s current needs. The records showed where individual risks had been identified action had been taken to reduce or remove them.
Staff told us about safeguarding procedures and were able to tell us warning signs they looked out for and about the different types of abuse. Information about safeguarding and who to contact was available and accessible to staff. The rotas showed us sufficient numbers of suitably trained staff were deployed to meet people’s needs and safeguard them from risks.
People’s medicines were not always administered in a safe way. A nominated person supported people one at a time with their medicines. People received their medicines in line with their prescription. We saw people were asked if they wanted pain relief medicine when they showed signs of being in pain. When people received a medicine that was to be administered as and when required, the reason for administration was not recorded.
We saw staff followed people’s care records. People told us they were involved and supported with their care records and staff had a good knowledge about them. Care records were person centred and reviewed on a regular basis or when someone’s needs had changed. Care plans included direction from health professionals when required. We saw people were supported to work with health professionals to receive on-going health care support. Care plans included people’s personal preferences, likes and dislikes. People and their families had signed to say they supported the care records.
People told us the food was good and we saw plenty of drinks on offer. People who required a specific diet due to their culture, preference or ability received such a diet. Food looked plentiful and hot from a balanced menu. People could have an alternative meal if they did not like the food on the menu.
We spent time observing care and support being given. Staff were respectful and were aware of people’s dignity. Staff had developed relationships with people so they appeared relaxed and shared jokes together. Staff would tell people what they were doing before they did it. If people refused they were sometimes prompted again and then their decision was respected.
The service had a complaints procedure in place. Complaints were recorded, analysed, responded to and learnt from. Complaints and accident and incidents were monitored to look for any trends. The service sent out an annual questionnaire to people and their relatives. Responses were looked at to see what improvements could be made to the service and quality of care.
Staff told us they felt supported by the management and they had confidence if they mentioned a concern to the registered manager, it would be taken seriously and action would follow. People and their relatives told us they liked the registered manager and felt issues would be looked into. The registered manager ensured a robust programme of quality assurance was in place. We saw regular quality audits fed information into an action plan. The action plan was followed through to make changes.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the operation of the DoLS (Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards) which applies to care homes. We saw authorisation referrals had been made for people that had been deprived of their liberty.