Westlands Care Home
Wellingborough, NN8
ResidentialDementia
Rated 2 years agoReport explained
CQC report explained · a residential care home, run by Nicholas James and Regal Care Trading
Linden Manor
159 Midland Road, Wellingborough, NN8 1NF
Requires improvementpublished 16 October 2024, 22 months ago
Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the service was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.
The latest report, explained
What inspectors found, January 2024
Linden Manor is rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind, personalised care but ongoing risks with safety checks, medicines and management oversight.
This was an unannounced inspection prompted partly by concerns about emergency care and to check whether earlier improvements had been made. Inspectors visited the home and spoke with people, relatives, staff and managers. They also reviewed care records, staff recruitment files and management records.
People told inspectors they felt safe and were treated kindly. There were enough staff, care plans were personalised, and people received support with food, healthcare, activities, communication and relationships. The home was clean and relatives said concerns were dealt with.
However, inspectors found that some risks had not been identified or managed well. These included risks linked to diabetes, exposed hot water pipes, medicines, moving and handling equipment, cleaning records and pressure-relieving mattresses. The systems used by managers had not found or fixed some of these problems.
The overall rating remains Requires Improvement, as do Safe and Well-led. Effective, Caring and Responsive are rated Good. The home has received Requires Improvement for the last three inspections.
What inspectors praised
Enough staff
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs. Staff worked together to cover sickness and holidays, and regular agency staff knew people well.
“There were enough staff available to meet people's needs.” from the report
Kind relationships
People were treated with kindness and respect. Inspectors saw positive relationships between people and staff, with support for dignity and independence.
“People were well treated and supported by a regular staff team that understood their needs well.” from the report
Personalised care
Care plans included people's preferences, history and hobbies. People had choice about their routines, activities and how they spent their time.
“Care plans were written in a person centred manner and included people's likes, dislikes, work and personal history.” from the report
Good food and healthcare support
People's food preferences and dietary needs were recorded and supported. Staff arranged healthcare referrals and used information to help respond to changes in people's health.
“People were well supported with food and drink.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
Risks were not always identified
seriousSome care plans did not contain important guidance, including guidance about diabetes deterioration and a newly fitted catheter. Exposed hot water pipes and poorly fitting radiator covers also created a scalding risk.
“However, we found some risks to people that had not been identified.” from the report
Medicine recording problems
seriousRecords for pain relief patches were inconsistent, creating a risk that old patches might not be removed. One medicine risk assessment was incomplete and one as-needed medicine was given without recording the reason.
“We found inconsistencies in how staff were recording the administration of pain relief via a patch.” from the report
Infection control shortfalls
needs fixingMoving and handling slings belonging to different people were stored together, creating a risk of cross-contamination. Some cleaning records also had gaps.
“This meant there was a risk of cross contamination.” from the report
Management systems did not fix known problems
seriousAudits had not identified several risks, including medicine storage temperatures and an incorrectly set pressure-relieving mattress. The provider had not made enough improvement after the previous enforcement action.
“Not enough improvement had been made at this inspection and the provider remained in breach of regulation 17(1).” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
- 01What changes have been made to ensure diabetes, catheter and scalding risks are recorded and reviewed in each person's care plan?
- 02How are pain relief patches and as-needed medicines now recorded and checked?
- 03How do you check that each person's moving and handling equipment is labelled, stored separately and cleaned safely?
- 04What action has been taken after the finding about medicine room temperatures and the incorrectly set mattress?
- 05How will you show that the Regulation 17 breach and the earlier warning notice have been fully addressed?
This was an unannounced follow-up inspection prompted by emergency-care concerns and earlier required improvements; it assessed all five key questions, with Effective improving to Good while Safe and Well-led remained Requires Improvement. This explanation was written from the published report of 18 January 2024 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
The story over the years
Every inspection of Linden Manor
8 rated inspections over 9 years: the service has slipped, from Good to Requires improvement.
- January 2024Requires improvementcurrent ratingstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- April 2023Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- June 2021Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementWell-led: Good
- November 2020Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- February 2020Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- July 2017Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2016Requires improvementup from InadequateSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- January 2016Inadequatedown from GoodSafe: InadequateEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Inadequate
- May 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- September 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- June 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- August 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- August 2012
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 21 August 2012.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission. A service can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections, not every contact the CQC has had with the service.
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