CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at The Wolds Care Centre
Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the home was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.
- Safe?
- Requires improvement
- Some people did not receive medicines as prescribed. Risk checks and learning from serious incidents were not always reliable, although infection control, safeguarding and recruitment checks were positive.
- Effective?
- Requires improvement
- Training and supervision were behind schedule, and some people had been deprived of their liberty without the necessary legal authority. People generally had access to healthcare and enjoyed the food.
- Caring?
- Requires improvement
- Staff were generally kind, respectful and supportive of privacy and independence. However, staffing pressures meant people's individual needs were not always met in a consistently caring and person-centred way.
- Responsive?
- Requires improvement
- People sometimes waited too long for call bells, personal care and help at mealtimes. Activities had also reduced, although complaints were handled correctly and some people continued to enjoy personal interests.
- Well-led?
- Requires improvement
- Quality checks had not identified several important problems, and some significant events had not been reported to the CQC. The new manager was open about the weaknesses and had begun work to improve them.
What inspectors found, April 2022
The Wolds Care Centre is rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind staff and good infection control, but serious gaps in safety, staffing, care planning and management.
This was an unannounced inspection on 26 January and 02 February 2022. Inspectors spoke with residents, relatives and staff, and reviewed care files, recruitment records and quality checks. The inspection was brought forward after concerns about staffing and the safety of care.
The home was rated Requires Improvement in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found problems with medicines, risk checks, staffing, training, supervision, care plans, activities, legal paperwork and quality monitoring.
There were also positive findings. Staff were generally kind and respectful. People enjoyed the food and drink. Infection control systems and recruitment checks were in place, and staff knew how to report abuse.
A new manager had been in post for about three weeks and had started making changes. The CQC found three breaches of regulations and said it would check that the provider took action.
Kind and respectful staff
Staff were generally caring and attentive. Inspectors saw people being treated with patience and compassion, and found that privacy, dignity and independence were promoted.
“During our inspection we observed staff generally attended to people's needs with patience and compassion, despite the various demands upon their time.” from the report
Food and drink
People were mostly happy with the meals. There were daily breakfast choices, lunchtime options and snacks available throughout the day.
“Most people we spoke with were satisfied with the food and drink provision in the home.” from the report
Infection control
Inspectors were assured that the home had systems to prevent and manage infections, including COVID-19. Visiting was supported under current guidance.
“We were assured that the provider was making sure infection outbreaks can be effectively prevented or managed.” from the report
Safeguarding and recruitment
Staff had safeguarding training and knew how to report concerns. Recruitment records showed the required checks had been completed.
“More positively, we reviewed recent recruitment decisions and saw that the necessary checks had been carried out to ensure that the staff employed were suitable to work with the people who used the service.” from the report
Medicines and risk management
seriousSome medicines were not given as prescribed. Records also did not reliably show that people had been weighed or repositioned as required, increasing risks to their health and safety.
“People did not always receive their medicines as prescribed, increasing risks to their safety.” from the report
Long waits for care
needs fixingStaffing levels were enough to keep people safe during the inspection, but not always enough to provide timely, person-centred care. Some people waited a long time for call bells, toilets, personal care and help at meals.
“There are not enough staff. They take a long time to answer call bells … then carers come and say they will be back in a minute but then don't come back for a long time.” from the report
Care plans not always followed
seriousCare plans were generally organised, but staff did not always follow them in practice. Reviews sometimes repeated the same wording without showing that actions had been completed.
“People did not always receive person-centred care and support that met their requirements and preferences.” from the report
Training and supervision gaps
needs fixingMany staff had not completed required training, including dementia and moving and handling training. Regular one-to-one supervision was also well below the provider's stated expectation.
“The overall training compliance rate was 66.5%.” from the report
Weak quality monitoring
seriousThe home's audits had not found or corrected problems with care planning, medicines, person-centred care and learning from incidents. Some required notifications to the CQC were also missed.
“Quality assurance systems were not effective.” from the report
- 01What has changed to make sure medicines are always available and given as prescribed?
- 02How many staff are usually on duty on each unit, including at night, and how do you monitor call-bell response times?
- 03How do you check that people are weighed, repositioned and supported according to their care plans?
- 04What is the current completion rate for required staff training and regular supervision?
- 05What action has been taken to improve quality audits and ensure serious incidents and legal authorisations are reported correctly?
This was the first comprehensive inspection of the newly registered service under the new provider and it assessed all five key questions, including infection prevention and control. This explanation was written from the published report of 30 April 2022 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of The Wolds Care Centre
3 rated inspections over 6 years: the service has slipped, from Good to Requires improvement.
- April 2022Requires improvementcurrent ratingSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- November 2020Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- December 2019Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- March 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- December 2020
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 14 December 2020.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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9 live-in carers within about an hour of Lincolnshire
These are self-employed carers on PrimeCarers, the introductory agency that runs this directory. Each has a profile with their own rates and reviews from families, and you choose who to talk to.
8 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
“Martin was more than a carer, he managed the home and became my uncle's best friend, enriching his life during his last few years.”
“Magda was always positive and proactive about trying new things to keep dad busy. She also introduced new ideas for keeping dad healthy.”
Every carer has had an enhanced DBS check in the last 18 months, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview. Their skills and training are for you to check with them. Carers set their own rates, and who is free changes week to week.