Care Home: Whitelow House

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Annual service review Name of Service: Whitelow House The quality rating for this care home is: The rating was made on: two star good service 0 9 0 2 2 0 0 9 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 We do an annual service review when there has been no key inspection of the service in the last 12 months. It does not involve a visit to the service but is a summary of new information given to us, or collected by us, since the last key inspection or annual service review.   Has this annual service review changed our opinion of the service?   No You should read the last key inspection report for this service to get a full picture of how well outcomes for the people using the service are being met. The date by which we will do a key inspection: Name of inspector: Susan Dale Date of this annual service review: 0 3 0 2 2 0 1 0 Annual Service Review Page 1 of 7 Information about the service Address of service: 429 Marine Road East Morecambe Lancashire LA4 6AA 01524411167 Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address:   http:/www.whitelowhouse.co.uk/ Qualitas Care Limited Name of registered provider(s): Name of registered manager (if applicable) Mr David Carnegie Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : old age, not falling within any other category Conditions of registration: Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 0 32 The registered person may provide the following category/ies of service only: Care home with nursing - Code N to service users of the following gender: Either whose primary care needs on admission to the home are within the following categories: Old age, not falling within any other category - Code OP The maximum number of service users who can be accommodated is: 32 Have there been any changes in the ownership, management or the No service’s registration details in the last 12 months? If yes, what have they been: Date of last key inspection: Date of last annual service review (if applicable): Brief description of the service Whitelow House is a care home providing nursing care. The building is a detached property with front, side and rear garden areas. The home is situated on Marine Road East facing the promenade with extensive views of Morecambe Bay. Nursing and residential care is provided on three levels of the building. Many of the bedrooms have Annual Service Review Page 2 of 7 0 9 0 2 2 0 0 9 sea views. There is a passenger lift in place and ramp facilities for access to areas of the home and garden. The home has two lounges and two dining rooms. A large proportion of the home has been refurbished and six double rooms have been turned into single rooms with en-suite facilities and new built in wardrobes. The lower ground floor has been completely redecorated and has a conservatory. A smoking room is available on the top floor. Information about the services provided by the home is available withing a Statement of Purpose and Service Users Guide (Welcome Pack). Current weekly fees are between £435:00 and £560:00 according to need and there are additional extras for example, hairdressing and newspapers. Annual Service Review Page 3 of 7 Service update since the last key inspection or annual service review: What did we do for this annual service review? We looked at all the information that we have received, or asked for, since the last key inspection or annual service review. This included; The annual quality assurance assessment (AQAA) that was sent to us by the service. The AQAA is a self-assessment that focuses on how well outcomes are being met for people using the service. It also gave us some numerical information about the service. Surveys returned to us by people using the service and by staff. Information we have about how the service has managed any complaints. What the service has told us about things that have happened in the service, these are called notifications and are a legal requirement. The previous key inspection report. Relevant information from other organisations. What other people have told us about the service. Information from any visits we have made to the service. What has this told us about the service? The home sent their AQAA when we asked for it. The AQAA was clear and detailed giving us all the information required. We looked at the information in the AQAA and our judgement is that the home is still providing a good service. Any prospective person considering entering the home is issued with the Statement of Purpose as well as a Welcome Pack (Service Users Guide) that provides information about the services provided by the home; both documents are reviewed and revised on a regular basis. Surveys were sent prior to the annual service review; five surveys were returned from people being supported by Whitelowe; the responses were all very positive. There were no surveys returned from staff up to the time of writing the report. The surveys indicated that the people cared for in the home had received enough information before deciding whether to move in. They had received a contract that detailed the homes terms and conditions. They always received the care and support required and staff listened and acted upon their wishes. There are suitable activities and just one person did not know how to make a formal complaint. Comments had been recorded on the surveys by relatives on their behalf and included: I feel ........is extremely well cared for, her weight is monitored weekly, she is kept happy and clean and her skin well moisturised. Annual Service Review Page 4 of 7 I cannot pinpoint anything I feel lacking in the care given or the interaction with staff. I have found ..........has improved considerably since arriving from ...........hospital where the quality of care was terrible. There has been ongoing improvements, upgraded lift, ramp to the front entrance, decoration. Newsletter produced. Fund raising for benefit of residents. When asked what the agency does well: Communication with relatives. Consideration of diet and preference in food. Regular activities and entertainment. Caring staff. Home from home. When asked what the home could do better a comment was made that they could have more care staff. The AQAA provided information on the improvements made after listening to the people residing at the home and their relatives. The garden is a popular area to sit in the summer months, a relative commented that her mother was afraid that she would not be able to get the attention of a carer when she wanted to come back inside. A nurse call point has now been installed in the garden connected to the main system. Any person in the garden can now call for assistance in just the same way as they do in their rooms or other parts of the building. Several families have said that they like to take their relatives out onto the sea front when they visit but, the wheelchair route from the ground floor was a bit of a deterrent. There is now a permanent 36 foot wheelchair ramp at the front of the building leading up to the front door. For a number of years there has been an entertainer visiting the home every four weeks that has proved very popular. There is now an additional arrangement with another entertainer who also comes every four weeks resulting in entertainment every two weeks. A relative commented that there was no hand basin in a communal toilet on the ground floor and a basin has now been added with a small sink, soap and towel dispenser. One of the two bathrooms on the garden floor has been converted into a wet room as requested by both relatives and the people cared for. Strict policies and procedures are in place with regard to equality and diversity. Working practices are continuously adjusted in order to meet the needs of the people cared for and as identified on the pre-admission assessment. Any religious beliefs and associated needs are documented on the individual care plan. The pre-assessment process has been expanded to record additional information e.g. social worker contact, community psychiatric nurse contact, previous care home contact. The risk assessments now include an assessment for cot sides and permission is sought and recorded with regard to medication assistance. Risk assessments are in place for any person that uses recliner chairs as required at the last inspection. Each person has a comprehensive care plan customised to their individual needs based Annual Service Review Page 5 of 7 on a system called the care pathway. Each need is matched with a nursing intervention and a desired outcome. A person centred approach is taken and this approach is being developed further. There is an experienced activities co-ordinator who provides a programme of activities including bingo, quizzes, music and reminiscence afternoons. The activities coordinator ensures that any person who does not like group activities is given a suitable activity according to their wishes such as one-to-one games or conversation. All staff are encouraged to engage in conversation with the people living in the home. The manager has printed and laminated many old pictures found on the internet e.g. adverts, movie stars, scenes of Morecambe and used these to stimulate residents and prompt discussion. A robust system for the recruitment of staff is in operation with pre-employment checks taking place including the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Protection of Vulnerable Adults register (POVA). This ensures that the staff employed are suitable to work with vulnerable adults. Two staff have a nursing qualification and seven of the fourteen care staff have obtained a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Care at level 2 or above; a further six staff are working towards the qualification. The NVQ in Care is the nationally recognised qualification required in the Social Care services. The agency have a suitable complaints procedure; there have been no complaints made to the Care Quality Commission over the last twelve months. The management of the home continuously look for new ways to improve the facilities provided and have kept the Commission informed of any event that could effect the health and well being of the people living in the home. What are we going to do as a result of this annual service review? We will continue to monitor information about this service. We can inspect the service at any time if we have concerns about the quality of the service or the safety of the people using the service. 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