What the CQC found at Windmill House

Inspectors found that staff were recruited with the required checks. Staff said there were usually enough people on shift to meet needs.

“Staff were recruited safely to the service, with relevant checks including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) in place, to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people.” from the report

The home had a full-time activity lead and volunteers. People could take part in group, one-to-one and community activities, and regular visits were allowed.

“The activity lead told us the activities were chosen and led by people living at the service, to ensure people maintained and developed new hobbies and interests.” from the report

People and relatives were involved in end of life planning where appropriate. Staff worked with health professionals and anticipatory medicines were available when needed.

“People's care records contained end of life care planning, with involvement from people and their relatives where appropriate, to ensure their needs and wishes were fulfilled by staff.” from the report

There were medicine counts and running totals. Allergy information was recorded, and arrangements were in place for some people who needed medicines given covertly.

“Regular medicine counts were in place, and records included running totals to support staff to maintain accurate details of medicines available for use or needing to be reordered.” from the report

Risk items such as denture tablets, razors and cleaning products were not stored securely. Diabetes care and repositioning records also lacked important guidance or evidence.

“People were not protected from harm, as risk items such as denture cleaning tablets, razors, personal care and cleaning products were not stored securely.” from the report

Parts of the home, including the kitchen and communal kitchenettes, were visibly unclean. Inspectors were not assured that infection control policies were being followed in practice.

“Areas of the service, particularly the kitchen and communal kitchenettes were found to be visibly unclean.” from the report

People were hoisted in communal areas without steps to protect their privacy. Some areas smelled unpleasant, and personal hygiene and presentation were not always maintained.

“We observed staff to hoist people in communal areas of the service, without putting measures in place to maintain their privacy and dignity.” from the report

People asking for hot breakfast items were sometimes refused because these were only offered on set days. Staff also completed simple tasks instead of supporting people to do more for themselves.

“Where people asked for hot breakfast items, we observed these requests to be declined as we inspected on a Tuesday, and cooked breakfast items were only provided on Wednesdays and Saturdays.” from the report

Audits and daily checks did not identify problems found by inspectors. Some incidents were not notified to CQC, and actions from an earlier local authority assessment remained incomplete.

“Audits and daily walk around checks of the service were in place, but were not identifying the environmental risks, issues around care standards and concerns found on both days of inspection, these checks were therefore not effective, and did not drive improvement.” from the report