Archived: Whitwell Park

Updated 18 June 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 21 and 22 October 2014 and was unannounced. It was undertaken by an inspector, specialist advisor in learning disability, a pharmacy inspector and an expert by experience of people living with a learning disability. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Before our inspection the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also spoke with the local authority responsible for contracting and monitoring some people’s care at the home. They told us there were no outstanding issues at the time of the inspection visit.

We spoke with nine people living at the home, one person’s relatives and eight staff, including two deputy managers and the registered manager. We spoke with five external health and social care professionals including a speech and language therapist, social workers and health specialists.

We observed how staff approached and interacted with people receiving care and we looked at three people’s care records. We looked at a range of other records relating to the care people received. This included some of the provider’s checks of the quality and safety of people’s care, staff training and recruitment records, food menus and medicines administration records.

Updated 18 June 2015

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014. The inspection was unannounced.

There was a registered manager at the service at the time of our inspection. 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.

Whitwell Park is a home for up to thirty-five people with learning disabilities. There were thirty-three people using the service at the time of our inspection visit.

Our previous inspection visit in August 2013 found that some aspects of care documents did not contain sufficient information to ensure people’s individual needs were fully met. We found this had improved on this visit and that records were detailed, personalised and up to date.

People using the service were protected from the risk of abuse because the provider had taken steps to minimise the risk of abuse. Decisions related to peoples care were taken in consultation with people using the service, their representative and other healthcare professionals, which ensured their rights were protected.

Where people using the service lacked capacity to understand certain decisions related to their care and treatment best interest meetings were held which involved family members, independent mental capacity advocates, and social workers.

There were some potential hazards in the building that could pose a risk to people’s safety and some medicines were not administered according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

There were enough staff available at the service and staffing levels were determined according to people’s individual needs.

Staff received training that was relevant in supporting people with learning disabilities. Staff were supported through strong links with community healthcare professionals to ensure people received effective care relating to their diet and their ongoing healthcare needs.

There was a friendly, relaxed atmosphere at the home. People told us they enjoyed living there and their relatives told us that staff were caring and compassionate. People were able to take part in activities of their choice but options were limited for some people. We have made a recommendation about the type of equipment in use. There was also some care practice that did not ensure people’s privacy and dignity was maintained.

The registered manager at the home was familiar with all of the people living there and staff felt supported by the management team. Regular staff and residents meetings were held by the service to ensure people were involved and could have their say in the running of the service.

Written responses were recorded to complaints but it was not always clear exactly what action had been taken to resolve the issues. It was also not clear whether the complainant was satisfied with the outcome.