Care Home: Weald Hall Residential Home

What the care home does well The management and team at the home have a good understanding of caring for people who are living with dementia and they are generally well trained. The manager is committed to driving the home forward and developing the services offered to residents. The manager links in well with residents` families and relationships and communication are generally good. The environment for residents is good and there are plenty of places for residents to walk about, with the garden being of particular value. The manager continues to develop the environment. What the care home could do better: The team need to continue to develop the activities programme further based upon residents preferences and assessed needs. The manager must put a system in place whereby the fire alarm is regularly tested to help ensure the safety of residents, visitors and staff. Random inspection report Care homes for older people Name: Address: Weald Hall Residential Home Weald Hall Lane Thornwood Epping Essex CM16 6ND two star good service The quality rating for this care home is: The rating was made on: A quality rating is our assessment of how well a care home, agency or scheme is meeting the needs of the people who use it. We give a quality rating following a full review of the service. We call this review a ‘key’ inspection. This is a report of a random inspection of this care home. A random inspection is a short, focussed review of the service. Details of how to get other inspection reports for this care home, including the last key inspection report, can be found on the last page of this report. Lead inspector: Diane Roberts Date: 2 5 0 6 2 0 1 0 Information about the care home Name of care home: Address: Weald Hall Residential Home Weald Hall Lane Thornwood Epping Essex CM16 6ND 01992572427 01708478151 michael502@btinternet.com Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: Name of registered provider(s): Name of registered manager (if applicable) Mr Michael James Stevens Type of registration: Number of places registered: Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : JK Healthcare Limited care home 39 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 39 dementia Conditions of registration: Date of last inspection Brief description of the care home 0 Weald Hall is a care home registered to provide accommodation and care to thirty-nine people over the age of 65 years who have dementia related care needs. The service is not registered to provide nursing care. The home is situated in a rural location on the outskirts of the small village of Thornwood Common, near Epping in Essex. It is a fairly isolated location and is not within walking distance from the village or main road; there is no public transport. The home is set in large well-maintained grounds, surrounded by farmland with views across fields and the private airfield, which runs alongside the grounds. The gardens and patio areas are suitable and accessible to those in wheelchairs or with other mobility problems, garden furniture is provided. The older Care Homes for Older People Page 2 of 9 Brief description of the care home style building, renovated and decorated to a high standard, provides accommodation on two floors. Personal accommodation consists of 39 rooms for single occupancy with en suite toilet and washbasin facilities. A passenger lift provides access to the upper floor. Some communal corridors are not wide enough for the larger wheelchair. The fees charged by the service range from £550.00 to £700.00 per week depending on needs assessment and room size. There are additional charges for hairdressing, chiropody and newspapers. Care Homes for Older People Page 3 of 9 What we found: We visited the home on a Friday morning and met with the manager. When we arrived at the home residents were either having their hair done, sitting in the garden with relatives or in their rooms or the lounges. Residents clearly have choice about where they spend their time and were happy to interact with us and appeared content. Since we last visited the home the manager has introduced a new records management system that covers care planning, staff records and premises. The team are currently in the process of changing over to a computerised system, and they have worked on getting a system in place that is not too generic and allows for an individualised approach. 80 of the care plans are on the new system. The system prompts for the reviews and centralises the information. We looked at the new care plans and these are written in the first person and are very person centred and include risk assessments. The plans do need to ensure that the staff are clear on how they are going to meet the objectives. The majority of relatives who commented on our surveys said that the care needs of their relatives were nearly always met, that staff listened and that staff were available to the residents. Comments included they respect residents wishes, they take care of the residents in a cheerful manner, they look after my relative very well, they look after x well and the staff are wonderful, the staff are very caring and always on hand if you need them, the staff give time to the residents, the staff encourage residents to take part in activities and encourage them to eat in a relaxed way and the home has a very calm atmosphere. The manager has recently changed the medication system to using blister packs from dosset boxes. The manager has used a company that both supply the medication and train all seniors staff and some other key staff. A technician comes from the company and books in the medication with staff. Residents interacted well with us and the staff and smiled and appeared happy. Two residents who were sitting outside with their visitors commented on how much they had enjoyed their cooked breakfast. During the hot weather, from the records, staff are very aware of the need to provide residents with more drinks and ice lollies etc. are available from the garden tea room. Jugs of drink were seen to be available in the main lounges. A new activity co-ordinator is in post working 30 hrs. a week in total. The team have have just started using new recording format for activities. The record lists all residents and their key activity preferences and then lists what they have done on what day. Staff are completing these but from discussion, the recording by care staff and the activities officer is inconsistent. For example, staff took residents out for a walk the day before we visited and they had not recorded this and where residents are happy spending time in the garden this is also not recorded. Activities recorded include decorating cakes, dancing, singing, needlework, boardgames, catch hoopla, walk in garden, ping pong, needlework, painting, looking at magazines, instruments, drawing,colouring, knitting, bingo, cards, catch, nails, hoopla, boardgames, smells, looking at books, ball games, weaving, knitting, music, TV, films, memory game and quiz. The records show that a good range of activities are taking place and but the activities offered need to further improve in relation to individual assessed social care needs. The residents do have access Care Homes for Older People Page 4 of 9 to doll therapy but items like rummage boxes, for people living with dementia are not currently available. The manager says that the emphasis is on developing individual social stimulation based upon personal preferences and assessed need. The activities officer is working closely with families on activities offered and on gaining social information on individual residents. Nearly all the relatives who commented in our surveys said that they would like to see more activities. The manager ties to work at least once a month at weekends in order to catch up with families, as he likes to work well with them. He also does some late shift in order to see night staff. On discussion, the manager knows the residents and their families well and is up to date with any current issues affecting them. Information on the complaints procedure and local adult protection services is available in the main reception along with the service users guide etc. All the relatives who commented in our surveys said they knew how to raise a complaint. We toured the home with the manager. At the current time a large refurbishment plan is being undertaken. Corridors are being painted all different colours to help residents find their way around and maintain independence. The dining room has been painted and new furniture has recently been delivered. Plans are in place to redecorate the lounges and purchase new furniture. The manager has purchased memory boxes for each bedroom, so that residents are further supported to maintain their independence, finding their way around the home. Overall the home was clean and although some odours were noted in some bedrooms, these were yet to be cleaned and were limited to a specific area. At the time of our visit there was decorating work going on and there were items stored around the home, giving an untidy feel, but this is not permanent. Relatives who commented said the home was either always or usually fresh and clean. The care staff could do more in tidying up after caring for residents in bathrooms, where toiletries etc. had been left. Since we last visited a lot of work has been completed on the garden and this is an excellent resource for the residents to use. There are plenty of individual seating areas, some of which are pergolas the manager plans to cover in order to provide more shade. The garden now has a games room, a tea room and a shop where residents can purchase (they are given money) items where there is a till etc. These are a good resource but some-one needs to ensure that they have a cleaning rota in order to make them really good places to spend time. The outside of the home is tidier than when we last visited. Trees have been reduced at the back of the home to improve natural daylight into some of the ground floor bedrooms. The maintenance man works 16 -20 hrs per week and outside contractors are also used. The maintenance log shows that work is signed off when complete and that the care staff are happy to attend to minor issues as they occur. The manager has a fire safety risk assessment in place that is up to date and sufficiently detailed. Regular fire drills are carried out but the testing of the fire alarm is inconsistent, with the alarm last being tested in March 2010. This needs to be addressed to ensure the safety of residents, staff and visitors. We raised this with the manager when we visited in 2008. The current staffing levels are 1 senior carer and 7 care staff in the morning, reducing to 1 and 6 in the afternoon. At night there is 1 senior and 2 care staff. The day staff start at 7 a.m, as many of the residents get up early. In the future the manager plans to use a more formal dependency tool in line with the new computer system, to help him assess the required staffing levels. Care Homes for Older People Page 5 of 9 The manager currently chairs a small consortium of three local homes that have resources to use from the local authority for staff training and the emphasis is on staff training around social care, including reminiscence. McMillan nurses are providing 9 key staff at the home with end of life training, who are undertaking a 6 week course. Training records show that staff training at the home is generally good but there are some gaps where staff have not had up to date training in fire safety and health and safety. We do acknowledge that sessions are planned. It is good to see that the majority of staff have training in caring for people living with dementia, challenging behavior and respect and dignity. Consideration should be given to training in the deprivation of liberty and mental capacity and also conditions associated with old age such as diabetes etc. The manager holds meetings with relatives and the minutes show that they are kept up to date with anything that may affect the day to day lives of residents in the home and they are involved in the development of events and activities. A bi-monthly newsletter is also now circulated. What the care home does well: What they could do better: If you want to know what action the person responsible for this care home is taking following this report, you can contact them using the details set out on page 2. Care Homes for Older People Page 6 of 9 Are there any outstanding requirements from the last inspection? Yes R No £ Outstanding statutory requirements These are requirements that were set at the previous inspection, but have still not been met. They say what the registered person had to do to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action 1 19 23 (4) Fire safety equipment needs to be tested at regular intervals. 01/11/2008 Care Homes for Older People Page 7 of 9 Requirements and recommendations from this inspection: Immediate requirements: These are immediate requirements that were set on the day we visited this care home. The registered person had to meet these within 48 hours. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Statutory requirements These requirements set out what the registered person must do to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must do this within the timescales we have set. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Recommendations These recommendations are taken from the best practice described in the National Minimum Standards and the registered person(s) should consider them as a way of improving their service. No Refer to Standard Good Practice Recommendations Care Homes for Older People Page 8 of 9 Reader Information Document Purpose: Author: Audience: Further copies from: Inspection Report Care Quality Commission General Public 0870 240 7535 (telephone order line) Our duty to regulate social care services is set out in the Care Standards Act 2000. Copies of the National Minimum Standards –Care Homes for Older People can be found at www.dh.gov.uk or got from The Stationery Office (TSO) PO Box 29, St Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1GN. Tel: 0870 600 5522. 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