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CQC report explained · a residential care home, run by Psycare

Winnett Cottage

111 Hertford Road, Stevenage, SG2 8SH

Goodpublished 11 November 2023, 2 years ago

Rated Good: inspectors found the service performing well and meeting their expectations.

The five questions inspectors ask
Safe?
Good
Inspectors found people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. There were enough staff, risks were assessed, medicines were managed safely and infection control practices were followed, although some areas needed maintenance.
Effective?
Good
This area was not reviewed during this focused inspection. The report used the previous inspection ratings for areas that were not inspected.
Caring?
Good
This area was not reviewed during this focused inspection. The report used the previous inspection ratings for areas that were not inspected.
Responsive?
Good
This area was not reviewed during this focused inspection. The report used the previous inspection ratings for areas that were not inspected.
Well-led?
Good
Inspectors found an open and friendly culture, regular quality checks and good partnership working. The management team was developing further incident analysis and improvement systems.
The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, November 2023

Winnett Cottage is rated Good; inspectors found people were safe and the home was well managed, with some maintenance and improvement work still under way.

This was an unannounced focused inspection on 30 October 2023. One inspector spoke with two people, three staff members and a health professional. They reviewed care and medicines records, recruitment files, audits and other management records, and observed the home.

The home was rated Good for Safe and Well-led. Inspectors found enough trained staff, safe recruitment, suitable risk assessments and safe medicines systems. People were protected from abuse and infection, although some areas needed maintenance to support effective cleaning.

The management team had systems for checking quality, learning from incidents and gathering feedback. The home was developing its incident analysis and service improvement systems. The overall Good rating also used ratings from the previous inspection for the other areas, which were not reviewed this time.

What inspectors praised

  • People felt safe

    People told inspectors they felt safe, and staff knew how to recognise and report abuse. The home also worked with other agencies to protect people from harm.

    “People were safe and protected from harm and abuse.” from the report

  • Enough suitable staff

    Inspectors found enough staff to support people. Recruitment files showed that the required checks had been completed.

    “The provider ensured there were sufficient numbers of suitable staff.” from the report

  • Safe medicines support

    Staff followed systems for prescribing, giving, recording and storing medicines. Their training and competence were checked regularly.

    “People were supported to receive their medicines safely. Staff monitored refusals and referred to health professionals for advice.” from the report

  • Open management

    People and staff described the culture as open and friendly. The home used audits, meetings and feedback to monitor and improve the service.

    “There was a positive and open culture at the service.” from the report

  • Partnership working

    Staff worked with mental health teams, psychiatrists, social services and GPs to support people's needs.

    “Staff worked with psychiatrists, mental health teams, social services, GPs among others to ensure people's support was in line with best practice guidance.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about

  • Some areas needed maintenance

    minor

    Inspectors said some parts of the home needed maintenance so they could be cleaned more effectively. The report does not say that this affected people's safety.

    “Some areas of the care home required maintenance to enable more effective cleaning.” from the report

  • Improvement systems were still developing

    minor

    The management team had identified further improvements, including better analysis of incident trends and patterns. These systems were still being developed at the time of the inspection.

    “The registered manager had identified improvements and was in the process of developing systems to” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01Which areas of the home needed maintenance for cleaning, and has this work now been completed?
  2. 02How are incidents reviewed now, and how are trends and patterns used to reduce repeat incidents?
  3. 03What recommendations came from the independent assessment of the governance systems?
  4. 04How will my relative's medicines be reviewed, and how will refusals or changes in medicines be handled?
  5. 05How will families and residents be involved in feedback and service improvement?

This was an unannounced focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the other ratings were carried over from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 11 November 2023 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 Winnett Cottage

4 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.

  1. November 2023Goodcurrent ratingstayed Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at Winnett Cottage →

  2. December 2017Goodstayed Good
    Safe: GoodWell-led: Good

    We are reading this report · the original is on cqc.org.uk

  3. June 2016Goodup from Requires improvement
    Safe: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  4. March 2016Requires improvement
    Safe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  5. July 2014

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  6. January 2014

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  7. February 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  8. April 2012

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  9. January 2011

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 18 January 2011.

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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