CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Woodford Court
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Requires improvement
- One person missed prescribed eye drops on five occasions, and the records did not clearly state the night-time administration time. The manager said this was corrected after the inspection, with more training and daily medicine checks introduced.
- Effective?
- Good
- Staff had training, supervision and appraisals. People received support with food, health needs and access to healthcare, and inspectors found the home was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act.
- Caring?
- Good
- People were treated with kindness, dignity and respect. Staff knew people's preferences and encouraged them to make choices and remain as independent as possible.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Support plans reflected people's individual needs, communication, interests and preferences. People and relatives were given information about complaints, and the home used comments and complaints to improve care.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Inspectors found an open management culture, regular staff meetings and systems to monitor care quality. Audits covered areas including care records, health and safety, training and medicine charts.
What inspectors found, May 2019
Rated Good overall; inspectors found kind, personalised care, but medicines were not always given as prescribed.
Inspectors made an unannounced visit on 2 April 2019. They reviewed care records, staff files, training records, medicine records and safety records. They spoke with people living at the home, relatives, staff and managers.
The home was rated Good overall. Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led were all rated Good. Safe was rated Requires Improvement because one person did not receive prescribed eye drops on five occasions and staff were unclear about the night-time administration arrangements.
The manager acted quickly after the inspection. Medicine instructions were made clearer, staff received further training and daily checks were introduced. The report says this was the first inspection under the new provider, so there was no previous rating to compare.
Kind and respectful staff
People and relatives spoke positively about the staff. Inspectors saw staff treating people kindly and respectfully.
“Throughout our visit we saw staff interacted with people who used the service in a kind and courteous way.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans included people's health, social and communication needs. People were involved in developing their plans and choosing activities.
“The support plans were developed to meet people's individual health and social care needs.” from the report
Enough trained staff
The report says staffing levels were enough to meet people's needs. Staff had induction, regular training, supervision and appraisals.
“People were safe as staffing levels were sufficient to meet people's needs.” from the report
Good management checks
The home had audits and action plans to monitor care and address issues. People and relatives could speak to the management team.
“There were quality assurance systems in place to monitor and drive service quality improvements.” from the report
Missed medicines
seriousOne person did not receive prescribed eye drops five times. The report says this could have harmed the person's health, although action was taken after the inspection.
“We found one person did not receive their eyes drops on five occasions and this could have a negative impact of person's health.” from the report
Unclear night-time medicine records
needs fixingThe medicine record used only the letter “N” rather than a precise time. This caused confusion about who was responsible for giving the medicine at night.
“There was also confusion on who was responsible to administer the medicine during the nights” from the report
Activities could be increased
minorOne relative felt people could have more activities. This was discussed with the manager.
“One relative felt that people could have more activities.” from the report
- 01What daily checks are now used to make sure every medicine is given at the correct time?
- 02Have there been any further missed or late medicines since the new medicine training and checks were introduced?
- 03How are medicine responsibilities handed over between day and night staff?
- 04What activities are available for each person, and what has been done in response to the relative's concern about having more activities?
- 05How often are care records, medicine charts and action plans reviewed, and can relatives be told about any problems found?
This was an unannounced planned inspection that assessed the overall service, including care and the premises, and gave ratings for all five questions. This explanation was written from the published report of 15 May 2019 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 Woodford Court
Each visit the CQC has published, newest first, back to the day the home was registered.
- May 2019Goodcurrent ratingSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- April 2018
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 30 April 2018.
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.
Weigh the report against the rest
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What to check when you visit
At least 100 live-in carers within about an hour of Redbridge
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.
Most charge £980 to £1,250 a week. 75 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
“Sidonia is a first class live-in carer whose dedication and thoughtfulness made her stay a happy experience.”
“Charity would take Nan on holidays day trips and shopping adventures”
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.