Care Home: Woodlands Residential Care

What the care home does well Medication is stored securely at all times in order to reduce the risk of medicines being misused or mishandled by unauthorised people What the care home could do better: All medication must be administered as prescribed in order to protect the health and wellbeing of people who use this service. There must be complete and accurate records of all medication received, administered and leaving the service in order to account for all medicines. There should be clear written instructions informing staff how to give any medicines that are prescribed to be taken only `when required` so that people are given these medicines safely and consistently. The manager should ensure that all staff are competent to handle and record medicines safely before they perform these tasks. There should be a system for regularly auditing (checking) the standard of handling and recording medication within the service so that standards can be monitored and improved where necessary. Inspecting for better lives Random inspection report Care homes for older people Name: Address: Woodlands Residential Care Wood Lane Liverpool Merseyside L27 4YA three star excellent 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 assessment of the service. We call this a ‘key’ inspection. This is a report of a random inspection of this care home. A random inspection is a short, focussed inspection. 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: Maggy Howells Date: 0 9 0 2 2 0 0 9 Information about the care home Name of care home: Address: Woodlands Residential Care Wood Lane Liverpool Merseyside L27 4YA 01514984266 01514984566 woodlands100@btinternet.com Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: Name of registered provider(s): Type of registration: Number of places registered: Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : Mr J Leggett care home 29 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 29 old age, not falling within any other category Conditions of registration: Date of last inspection Brief description of the care home 0 3 1 1 0 2 0 0 8 Woodlands is a residential care home registered with the Commission for Social Care Inspection to provide accommodation and personal care for 29 Older persons. The home is privately owned. Woodlands is located in the Netherley area of Liverpool and have easy access to bus routes and local amenities. The home is a large Victorian house set in three and half acres of woodland and gardens. A programme of modernisation and refurbishment has been carried out to ensure facilities in the house and garden is accessible to residents. Accommodation is supplied by a mixture of single and double rooms, 14 of the rooms are en-suite. There are 3 lounges and a dining room. Care Homes for Older People Page 2 of 8 What we found: We visited the home because we had been told about a mistake that had happened when giving and recording medicines. A pharmacist inspector carried out the visit. It lasted for four hours and involved speaking with the owner, manager and a senior carer. We checked the medicines storage area, a sample of medicines stocks and medicines records. We gave detailed feedback to the owner and manager at the end of the visit. Overall, we found that whilst most medicines were given correctly, some poor practice when handling and recording medicines meant that the health and wellbeing of people who live in the home might be at risk of harm. Most medicines were supplied by the pharmacy in blister packs, although some were in traditional boxes and bottles. We looked at a sample of records and stock and we found we could account for most medicines easily. This meant that we could be sure they had been given to people correctly. Two people had medicines kept in unlabelled containers. It was not possible to identify these tablets or see how they should be given. The health and well-being of people is at risk if staff cannot check what medicines they are giving. Of the medicines supplied in bottles and boxes, we found some that did not add up correctly, showing that they had been missed. For example, one person had missed three different medicines in the last 21days. Another person was prescribed painkillers, but it was not possible to see how many had been given. Missing medicines can seriously affect a persons health and wellbeing. When the administration of medicines is not accurately recorded, people are at risk of being given the wrong amount of medicine (too much or too little). Some people were prescribed medicines to be taken only when required e.g. painkillers. There was no formal system for recording detailed information about how and when these medicines were to be given. Having clear written information helps to ensure that people are given their medicines consistently and correctly. We looked at the storage of medicines and found that the service had appropriate medication cupboards and a trolley available. People are better protected when only authorised staff have access to the medication. A separate fridge was used for medicines needing cold storage and staff checked the temperatures of this regularly. Staff had acted quickly when the temperature got too high, and had moved the medicines to a secure container in another fridge. This ensured that medicines were kept at the correct temperature so that they did not spoil. We checked how controlled drugs (medicines that can be misused) were handled. A suitable cabinet for storage had been bought and a special register accurately recorded the stocks and administration of these medicines. Having good arrangements for the handling of controlled drugs helps prevent them being mishandled and misused. Care Homes for Older People Page 3 of 8 The manager told us that no formal audits (checks) of the medicines handling system were carried out. This meant that mistakes were not being found and acted upon to help prevent them happening again. For example, the manager said that staff knew to record the stock levels of tablets each week, however, some mistakes had not been noticed. Having a good audit system can help to maintain and improve standards. We looked at training and found that staff who were authorised to handle medication had completed appropriate trainings. However, there was no formal system for checking and recording the competence of staff actually administering or recording medicines. Checking the competence of staff ensures that staff have understood the training and are safe to carry out their duties without supervision. 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 4 of 8 Are there any outstanding requirements from the last inspection? Yes R No £ Outstanding statutory requirements These requirements were set at the last inspection. They may not have been looked at during this inspection, as a random inspection is short and focussed. The registered person must take the necessary action to comply with these requirements within the timescales set. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action 1 27 18 Staffing ratios must be reviewed to take account of the dementia category of residents. So that extra supervision of residents is being provided as required. 05/12/2008 Care Homes for Older People Page 5 of 8 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, Care Homes 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 1 9 13 Records for the receipt, administration and disposal of medicines must be complete and accurate to reduce the risk of mistakes and to help ensure medicines are given properly. 20/03/2009 2 9 13 Medicines must be given as 20/03/2009 prescribed, with particular care taken to ensure they are given at the correct time of day in order to protect peoples health and well being 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 1 9 There should be clear written instructions informing staff how to give any medicines that are prescribed to be taken only when required so that people are given these medicines safely and consistently. The manager should ensure that all staff are competent to handle and record medicines safely before they perform Care Homes for Older People Page 6 of 8 these tasks. Regular audits (checks) on all aspects of medicines management within the service should be carried out to identify areas of weakness. Actions taken as a result of the audits should be recorded. Care Homes for Older People Page 7 of 8 Reader Information Document Purpose: Author: Audience: Further copies from: Inspection Report CSCI 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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