What the CQC found at Woodcross Healthcare Services

People had good relationships with staff. Staff supported privacy, dignity, independence and personal choice.

“We observed during the inspection people had good relationships with staff and when staff spoke to people it was with dignity and respect.” from the report

Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs. Recruitment checks, references and DBS checks had been completed.

“At the time of this inspection there were sufficient staff in place to meet people's needs.” from the report

People and staff had noticed improvements since the new management started. The manager was visible, approachable and had begun an improvement plan.

“New management was in place in the home. This had a noticeable positive change and people and staff commented on how the home had improved” from the report

People were involved in their care and decisions about the home. Staff encouraged people to be independent and used the least restrictive approach.

“We saw people were regularly asked for their views on things taking place in the home, such as menu changes or ideas for any potential new activities.” from the report

Some people did not have suitable plans for constipation or sore skin. Other risks, including flammable creams, smoking and razors in bedrooms, had not been properly assessed.

“We found no evidence people had been harmed; however, the provider had failed to assess, monitor and mitigate risks to people's health, safety and welfare.” from the report

Some care plans contained conflicting information about food and drink for people at high risk of choking. This could have led to the wrong food being given.

“People who were on a diet as recommended by the Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) team due to high-risk choking had conflicting information in their care plan.” from the report

Some creams were not recorded as given, with no reason documented. Inhaler stock was also not always recorded, and medicine audits had not found these problems.

“People who were prescribed topical creams did not always have them administered. Medicines Administration Records (MAR)did not show a reason for why the creams had not been administered.” from the report

Inspectors found some areas were not clean and said the home needed decorating and new furniture. Cleaning records were also poor.

“The home was not always found to be clean and tidy. The home required decorating and new furniture.” from the report

There was a lack of meaningful activities, and some people were unhappy with what was offered. Some relatives had to contact the home to find out what was happening.

“Some relatives told us they had to contact the home to find out what was going on with their relative and the home did not always keep them informed of what was going on.” from the report

Audits did not identify all the concerns found during the inspection. Staff were not always clear about who was responsible for particular tasks.

“Systems were in place to monitor the service, however, these systems did not identify all the improvements required we found during the inspection.” from the report