Woodleigh Rest Home, Queensbury, faces new CQC inspection

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited Woodleigh Rest Home, Brewery Lane, Queensbury, across two dates in January 2023.

The care home, which supports older people and those living with dementia, was taken out of special measures and handed an overall ‘requires improvement’ rating.

The home was also rated ‘requires improvement’ for safety and effectiveness, and ‘inadequate’ for leadership. 

It was also rated ‘good’ for responsiveness and the inspection question, ‘is the service caring?’.

The health and social care watchdog said routine checks for medicines were not in place, sparking fears that people did not receive medicines as prescribed. 

One incident included failure to report a missing controlled drug for an investigation. 

The report also stated people’s nutritional needs were not always met while there was a continued breach of regulations for effective risk management.

The CQC’s report said: “People were not safe. Medicines were not managed safely. Risks to people's health and safety and wellbeing had not been effectively assessed and reviewed. This included risk relating to moving and handling, skin integrity and the environment. 

“The manager was unable to demonstrate effective leadership. This had not been effectively addressed by the provider and they were unable to demonstrate…evidence of lessons being learned. 

“Specific issues raised at the last inspection had not been addressed. 

“The service had made some improvements since the last inspection. However, they were not consistent and some initial improvements had not been sustained.

“Robust systems were not in place to monitor and check the use of controlled drugs. The provider told us controlled drugs should be checked weekly by two authorised staff. We found some checks had not taken place since November 2022 and checks were not always accurate.”

Inspectors focused on an incident where staff exposed one service user to the risk of injury or harm by not using a hoist. 

The report added: “People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. 

“Staffing levels had been increased and staff had received support, training and supervision to carry out their role. 

“Most people and relatives told us they felt safe and there were enough staff to meet people's needs. Staff were kind, respectful and caring. 

“Safe systems were in place to support people to maintain important relationships with their friends and relatives.

“The provider was responsive to the inspection findings.”

The Telegraph & Argus made several attempts to contact the care home for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.