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Care Services

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Alex Wood House, Cambridge.

Alex Wood House in Cambridge is a Residential home specialising in the provision of services relating to accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care and caring for adults over 65 yrs. The last inspection date here was 7th December 2019

Alex Wood House is managed by Cambridge Housing Society Limited who are also responsible for 3 other locations

Contact Details:

    Address:
      Alex Wood House
      3a Fortescue Road
      Cambridge
      CB4 2JS
      United Kingdom
    Telephone:
      01223578602
    Website:

Ratings:

For a guide to the ratings, click here.

Safe: Good
Effective: Good
Caring: Good
Responsive: Good
Well-Led: Good
Overall: Good

Further Details:

Important Dates:

    Last Inspection 2019-12-07
    Last Published 2017-05-17

Local Authority:

    Cambridgeshire

Link to this page:

    HTML   BBCode

Inspection Reports:

Click the title bar on any of the report introductions below to read the full entry. If there is a PDF icon, click it to download the full report.

2nd May 2017 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

Alex Wood House is a residential care home for older people and people living with dementia. It is registered to provide accommodation and personal care. It is not registered to provide nursing care. At the time of our inspection there were 30 people living at the service. The service is located in a residential area of the city of Cambridge.

There was no registered manager in post at the time of the inspection. The deputy manager was ‘acting up’ into this role, whilst the provider advertised for a new registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

This inspection was carried out on 2 May 2017 and was an unannounced inspection. At the last inspection on 29 June 2015, the service was rated as ‘good.’ At this inspection we found the service remained ‘good.’

Staff assisted people in a way that supported their safety and people were treated with respect. Staff were knowledgeable of how to report incidents of harm and poor care. Accidents and incidents were identified and recorded. Actions were taken to, as far as possible, reduce the risk of recurrence.

People had care plans in place which took account of their individual needs. These plans recorded people’s choices, their likes and dislikes, and any assistance they required. Risks to people who lived at the service were identified, and plans were put into place by staff to minimise and monitor these risks. This enabled people to live as safe and independent a life as possible.

People and their relatives/ advocates were involved in the setting up and agreement of their/their family members care plans.

People were looked after by enough, suitably qualified staff to support them safely with their individual needs. Pre-employment checks were completed on staff before they were deemed to be suitable to look after people at the service.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed and medicines were safely managed by staff whose competency had been assessed. Where there had been any errors in the administration of people’s medicines, these had been identified and dealt with appropriately.

Staff assisted people in a caring manner and with compassion. They knew the people they supported well and were aware of their history and personal preferences. Staff promoted and encouraged people to make their own choices. People’s dignity was respected at all times and staff assisted people in the way they wished to be supported.

The service was flexible and responsive to people’s needs. People maintained contact with their relatives, friends and the local community.

People were supported to eat and drink sufficient amounts of food and fluids. Staff monitored people’s health and well-being needs and acted upon issues identified. They also assisted people to access a range of external health care services when needed and their individual health needs were met.

Staff enjoyed their work and were supported and managed to look after people. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. They were assisted by the acting manager to maintain and develop their skills and knowledge by way of supervision, competencies, and appraisals. Staff were trained to provide safe and effective care which met people’s individual requirements.

There was a process in place so that people’s concerns and complaints were listened to and acted upon and where possible resolved to the complainants satisfaction.

The CQC monitors the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which applies to care services. DoLS applications had been made to the appropriate authorities to ensure that people’s rights were protected. People’s rights

29th June 2015 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

Alex Wood House is registered to provide accommodation and non-nursing care for up to 36 people. There were 34 people living in the home at the time of the inspection. The building has two floors and is split into small units.

This unannounced inspection took place on 29 June 2015. The previous inspection was undertaken on 11 February 2014 and we found that the provider was meeting all the legal requirements that we looked at.

At the time of the inspection there was a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People received their medication as prescribed and safe practices had been followed in the storage, administration and recording of medication. When there had been any errors in the administration of medication these had been identified and dealt with appropriately.

The requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were being followed. This meant that where people were being restricted from leaving the home on their own to ensure their safety, this had been done in line with the legal requirements.

People felt safe and staff knew what actions to take if they thought that anyone had been harmed in any way.

People confirmed and we saw that there were enough staff available to meet their needs. The recruitment process was followed to ensure that people were only employed after satisfactory checks had been carried out.

Staff were kind and compassionate when working with people. They knew people well and were aware of their history, preferences, likes and dislikes. People’s privacy and dignity were upheld.

Staff monitored people’s health and welfare needs and acted on issues identified. People had been referred to healthcare professionals when needed.

People were provided with a choice of food and drink that they enjoyed.

Care plans and risk assessments gave staff the information they required to meet people’s needs.

There was a complaints procedure in place and people felt confident to raise any concerns either with the staff or the registered manager.

The registered manager obtained the views from people that lived in the home, their relatives and staff about the quality of the service and action taken if any improvements were needed.

11th February 2014 - During a themed inspection looking at Dementia Services pdf icon

The service has a ground floor unit which caters for people with dementia. There were 12 people living on this unit on the day of our inspection.

We saw that people received care in accordance with their care plans. Staff were responsive to people’s needs and invested in providing a high standard of dementia care. We spoke with people who used the service. One person told us, “A good place to be, I wouldn’t want to move.”

We viewed the care plans for three people and saw that their care notes showed regular contact with visiting health professionals. We also saw that people had their social well-being considered and staff planned for this in their plans. This meant that people had regular access to health professionals and support from other providers such as social workers. People also had access to other services which included hairdressers and dentists.

The service had effective systems in place to ensure that the quality of dementia care was provided to the required standard. Staff were trained and supervised to ensure they worked in accordance with the service’s required standards. People who used the service were given opportunity to express their views and they were listened to. One person told us, “I have absolutely nothing to complain about here. I’d soon kick up a fuss if there were.”

27th November 2012 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

People that we spoke to were very happy with the care provided at Alex Wood House. One person said, "The staff are fantastic and totally approachable". Another said, "I am able to tell staff how I am feeling". Staff we spoke to told us that they enjoyed their jobs and felt well supported.

We found that there were many activities available for people to join in and that these were publicised. Regular outings were also planned. One person told me, "I enjoyed going to Sherringham in the summer". Another said, "I watch TV and read the paper". We saw that a relative had complimented the team at Alex Wood House for the well organised Jubilee celebrations.

The environment was found to be pleasant, comfortable and clean with access to a range of communal areas. The outdoor space was well maintained. We were told that people enjoyed the rabbits, budgerigar and aquarium.

3rd February 2012 - During an inspection to make sure that the improvements required had been made pdf icon

As the purpose of this review was to assess improvements made in relation to shortfalls identified during our previous reviews of compliance undertaken in September 2011 and December 2011, we did not request information directly from people using the service on this occasion. We did speak to people using the service during our visit in September 2011 and at that time people told us they were satisfied with the care and support they received and made many positive comments about the staff.

29th December 2011 - During an inspection to make sure that the improvements required had been made pdf icon

As the purpose of this review was to assess improvements made in relation to shortfalls identified during our previous visit, we did not request information directly from people using the service on this occasion. During our previous visit however, people told us they were satisfied with the care and support they received and made many positive comments about the staff.

27th September 2011 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

People we spoke with told us told us they liked Alex Wood house, that staff responded to their needs in a timely way and that the food was good. Comments we received included, “I love the staff here, and they love me” and “Staff always treat me respectfully, but I don’t always treat them the same way. Sometimes I tell them to ‘bugger off’, but they always take it in good humour.” Another person told us, “Staff have endless patience”.

Relatives we spoke with all expressed a high degree of satisfaction with the home. They told us that staff were friendly and welcoming and were good at informing them of what was going on with their family member. One told us, “They’re excellent and ring with every little thing”. Relatives also reported that activities at the home were frequent and varied, and one told us, “They took my husband to Scottsdale’s (garden centre) a few days ago and he really enjoyed it”. Relatives stated their concerns were always addressed quickly. One told us that her request for an additional arm chair in her husband’s room was sorted immediately. Another person reported that the home’s manager had rung to tell her that her mother-in-law’s missing towels had been found. However one relative commented, “I find it a bit strange that they paint my mother-in-law’s nails strange colours. She has never worn cosmetics in her life. It’s well intentioned but not right for her”.

 

 

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