Woodhouse Cottage care home in East Ardsley near Wakefield town centre has achieved the coveted ‘outstanding’ rating from health and social care regulator, the CQC. The home provides support for up to six autistic adults, who also have complex needs.
CQC inspectors visited the home unannounced on the 25 and 30 November 2021, and praised the “exceptionally person-centred care” they saw. People staying at Woodhouse Cottage can take part in a range of activities including going swimming, visiting the cinema and going shopping. Residents help organise day trips to empower them to have belief in their potential.
Person-centred care means giving people and their families a significant role in decisions about their care, to make sure it meets their needs. It's recognised as vital way of improving the experience people have during their time in care.
Involving people in their care is always important, but the pandemic, which placed severe restrictions on the activities residents could take part in, made the task even more vital. The CQC’s most recent report on the state of healthcare and adult social care in England said: “Holistic, person-centred care has always been important, but during the pandemic, it has become even more critical as adult social care staff have taken an even bigger role in the lives of people in their care during periods of lockdown.”
Inspectors at Woodhouse Cottage were impressed by the extent to which staff at the home involved the residents in their care. They said “people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests.” The home was rated ‘outstanding’ on the CQC categories of ‘caring’ and ‘responsive’.
Staff at the home were praised by the inspectors for being “highly motivated and committed to ensuring people were treated well.” The CQC “observed kind and caring interactions taking place throughout the day.”
Claire Murphy, the manager at Woodhouse Cottage, said: “For over 2 years, we worked on projects chosen by the service user group that would contribute towards enabling a more meaningful life. It was amazing to see people achieve life-changing outcomes that were directed by them with support from a team that were equally as enthusiastic. Being a part of this has to be the most rewarding part of the job.”
Priory CEO, Rebekah Cresswell, said: “I’m delighted that the hard work of the staff at Woodhouse Cottage has been recognised. Providing high quality person centred care for the people we look after is so important for their wellbeing, and the CQC rating shows just how well Woodhouse Cottage delivers it. Last year, I was proud to have a virtual meeting with one of the service users there who had been empowered to write and publish his own cookbook, which was a passion of his. We look forward to continuing this excellent work in the future.”
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About Priory and MEDIAN
Priory is the UK’s leading independent provider of mental health services. We treat more than 70 conditions, including depression, anxiety, addictions and eating disorders, as well as children’s mental health, across our nationwide network of sites. We also support autistic adults and adults with a learning disability, Prader-Willi Syndrome and brain injuries, as well as older people, within our specialist residential care and supported living facilities – helping as many people as possible to live their lives.
Priory is part of the MEDIAN Group, one of Europe’s leading providers of high quality mental health and rehabilitation services. The MEDIAN Group comprises 290 facilities with 5,000 beds caring for 28,000 people in the UK, 120 facilities with 20,000 beds caring for around 250,000 patients in Germany, and 15 facilities with 2,000 beds caring for 13,000 people in Spain, with more than 29,000 employees overall.