Westgate House Care Centre rated ‘Outstanding’ for being ‘Well-Led’ and ‘Good’ overall by the Care Quality Commission
A local care home, Westgate House Care Centre, was rated ‘Outstanding’ for being 'Well-Led' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It was rated ‘Good’ overall and in all other care categories: “is the service safe?”, “responsive” “effective” and “caring”.
In its review of the “Well-Led” category, which was rated ‘Outstanding’, inspectors said: “People who used the service, their relatives and the staff team all told us the service was exceptionally well-led. Relatives praised the staff and management for the care provided and the positive impact it had for people and peace of mind for relatives. We saw many examples where the management ethos and leadership enhanced people’s feeling of safety and wellbeing. The management team has excellent oversight of the way the home operated and nurtured the staff team to take ownership and have pride in the care they delivered.”.
Inspectors described the Home Manager, Nancy Currie, and her team as having “an open and candid approach when improvements were identified. Staff felt listened to, their opinions were valued, and they felt truly supported both as staff members and as individuals. The provider’s robust quality assurance systems promoted high quality care and helped to ensure that people received a safe and effective service that was caring and met all their needs within a holistic approach. The registered manager maintained strong influence on people receiving excellent care and support by ensuring reflective practice opportunities were provided for staff. These were very effective in putting actions in place and learning into daily practice.”
The CQC was full of praise for the home in other categories, including the “caring” category. They said, “People and relatives were positive about the quality of care provided by the staff team. It was clear to see that people were comfortable with staff and management, there was a warmth and affection demonstrated between people and staff that was coupled with dignity and respect in all interactions. A person told us, “I laugh and joke with them. We talk what I call silly nonsense but it makes my day and they seem to enjoy it too. The cleaners are lovely too and everyone has a good, what I call, 'earthy' sense of humour.”
Staff went on to describe the management as being “fair and very supportive”, and one staff member told the inspector “The Home Manager asks us if there is anything that can be done differently to improve the service for people, or the way the home functions. They always encourage suggestions from us.”
A relative told the CQC inspector, “Everyone knows Nancy by name. She speaks to them and gets a smile. She chats to them. They are all lovely; fantastic I would say. The dignity is maintained and they are respected.” A relative shared with us their experience of how their relation had progressed since being at Westgate House Care Centre, including how “there are lots of activities. There’s bingo and quizzes. Me bored? No way. There’s so much to do here. There’s the lounge to go to as well.”
Westgate House Care Centre supports elderly adults with dementia, rehabilitation, residential, nursing, and palliative care. It is located in Ware, Hertfordshire and it is managed by Westgate Healthcare Group.
Nancy Currie, Home Manager at Westgate House Care Centre, said:
“I’m very proud of every member of the staff team for what we’ve managed to achieve together. It’s an excellent achievement to be recognised by CQC on how we’ve worked together to ensure our home is providing an environment where our elderly residents are made to feel safe and secure, whilst receiving excellent personal care that improves their daily lives.”
Sanjiv Patel, Director at Westgate Healthcare, said:
“We’re incredibly proud of every member of staff team that has contributed to Westgate House receiving ‘Outstanding’ in ‘Well-Led’ and ‘Good’ overall following the inspection in January 2020. It’s a huge achievement for us as a company as our goal is to provide excellent care for our elderly residents, whilst leading a happy and content staff team that makes a positive impact to the lives of our residents every day.”
For more information on the care Westgate House Care Centre can offer, please call our team at 01920 426 100 or email enquiries@westgatehc.co.uk.
