CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Woodlands Care Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, March 2023
Rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind, effective care but unsafe medicines systems and weak quality monitoring.
This was an unannounced inspection over 24 and 25 January and 3 February 2023. Inspectors included medicines specialists and Experts by Experience. They spoke with people living at the home, relatives and staff, and reviewed care records, audits and other documents.
The home was rated Good for effective, caring and responsive care. Inspectors found enough staff, suitable training, good support with food and healthcare, respectful care and activities that matched people's interests.
The home was rated Requires Improvement for safe and well-led care. Medicines were not always available when needed, and some medicines were not stored or recorded safely. Care plans and quality checks also needed improvement. This was the home's first inspection.
Kind and respectful staff
People and relatives described staff as kind, helpful and respectful. Staff asked before providing support and promoted people's choices and independence.
“People received kind and compassionate care from staff who used positive, respectful language which people understood and responded well to.” from the report
Enough staff
Inspectors found staffing levels were sufficient to meet people's needs and keep them safe. Recruitment checks and induction were also in place.
“There were enough staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe.” from the report
Staff skills and support
Staff received induction, training and supervision. Inspectors found they had the skills and knowledge to provide effective care.
“Staff received effective induction, training and supervision to ensure they were skilled and competent to carry out their roles.” from the report
Personalised activities
The home offered activities linked to people's interests, hobbies and cultural needs. People said there were meaningful activities available.
“People said there were plenty of meaningful activities available.” from the report
Medicines were not always safe
seriousMedicines were not always delivered when needed, so some people did not receive them as prescribed. Inspectors also found problems with controlled drug storage, recording, expiry dates and medicine patches.
“Medicines were ordered for people but were not arriving in a timely manner.” from the report
Care plans were not always clear
needs fixingSome care plans contained several guidelines, making it difficult to find the latest information. One plan did not say how often catheter support was needed.
“Some care plans had multiple guidelines which made it more difficult to easily identify the latest and most relevant information.” from the report
Quality checks missed problems
needs fixingThe home's monitoring systems did not identify the issues found in care planning and record keeping. CQC recommended that these systems and practices be reviewed.
“The providers systems and processes for monitoring the safety and quality of the service did not identify the issues we found regarding care planning and record keeping.” from the report
- 01What has changed to make sure medicines are ordered and delivered before people's supplies run out?
- 02How are controlled drugs now stored and recorded safely?
- 03How do staff make sure liquid medicines are dated when opened and medicine patches are applied to different sites?
- 04How have care plans been changed so staff can quickly find the latest instructions, including the frequency of catheter support?
- 05How are managers checking that medicines, care plans and record keeping remain safe and accurate?
This was an unannounced first inspection covering all five key questions and infection prevention and control arrangements. This explanation was written from the published report of 3 March 2023 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 Woodlands Care Home
3 rated inspections over 7 years: the service has slipped, from Good to Requires improvement.
- March 2023Requires improvementcurrent ratingdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- December 2018Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- March 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- January 2022
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 7 January 2022.
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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At least 100 live-in carers within about an hour of Bolton
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 £1,260 a week. 92 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
“Primrose is a very kind and compassionate healthcare professional”
“He developed a close affinity with Terence, spending time talking with him before he retired to bed and looking after his needs during the night.”
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.