Care home near Newport told it must improve

Woodcote Hall has been given an overall rating of "requires improvement" following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.

A critical report, published this week following the inspection in April, said that people's rights were not always protected and bosses had not ensured decisions made on their behalf were in their best interests.

Read the full CQC report on Woodcote Hall here

Inspectors also said that staff had limited time to engage people in things they enjoyed doing and were not always responsive to people's needs.

The report said: "One person required specialist equipment to help them move around.

"Staff had requested some equipment through the occupational therapy service but they had not received it.

"However, they had not followed this up. They had also failed to seek repair of the person's wheelchair. This meant the person's independence was restricted as they were unable to access other parts of the home if they wished to do so.

"At lunchtime we saw one person asked a staff member to help them have a shave.

"The staff member had agreed to return to them after they had cleared away the lunch things but, at 5pm had not returned to help them."

Although checks were in place to assess and monitor the quality and safety of the service, inspectors highlighted problems with the system.

The report said: "The governance systems in place had not identified or planned for the shortfalls we had found such as, the failure to protect people's rights.

"Staff were not always effectively deployed to promote person centred care or to ensure the home was kept clean.

"There were vacant domestic staff roles and we observed that some areas of the home had not been hoovered and there was debris on the floor.

"The registered manager told us and we smelt that some areas of the home had an odour in the mornings. They said this was due to a lack of ensuites in people's bedrooms and had not taken action to address the odour."

The overall rating of "requires improvement" was given to the care home following inspections into five areas.

It was rated "requires improvement" for how effective, responsive and well-led it is, but "good" for providing a safe and caring service.

Inspectors said the care home had made "significant improvements" around managing medicines since the last inspection.

The report also said people were protected from harm or abuse by staff who knew how to recognise and report concerns.

Recruitment procedures were also said to be safe.

Woodcote Hall can care for up to 56 people and had 50 residents at the time of the inspection, some of whom were living with dementia.

It emerged last month that a carer had been suspended for a year after "wilful neglect" of a patient at the care home.

The ruling regarding Minel Serbu, who worked there in 2015, was given by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Woodcote Hall was unavailable for comment.