Willow Brook House

Updated 17 February 2024

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 1 inspector, 1 specialist nurse advisor and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Willow Brook House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Willow Brook House is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 4 people who used the service and 2 relatives about their experience of care. We also spoke with 12 members of staff including care workers, senior care workers, housekeeping and laundry staff, maintenance staff, nursing staff, a member of the multi-disciplinary team, 2 deputy managers and the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included several people's care records and medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and agency staff profiles. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 17 February 2024

About the service

Willow Brook House is a nursing home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 43 adults. The service is comprised of one building over two levels. At the time of inspection there were 17 people living at the service with dementia, mental health and physical needs.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Risks to people’s care had been identified but the measures in place to mitigate those risks were not always consistently applied. Any deterioration in people’s health was not easily identifiable, the provider was in the process of developing a handover document to ensure all nursing staff were easily and fully appraised of people’s current health condition.

People’s care plans were basic and improvements were needed to ensure staff had all the information they needed to fully support people in the way they wished and provide them with more person centred activities.

The systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service needed to be improved, embedded and sustained to be able to fully assessed.

There were sufficient staff who had been recruited safely and had the training and skills to meet people’s needs. People were protected from harm and received their medicines safely.

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 policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff were kind and caring and treated people with respect. People’s dignity was protected and they were involved in decisions about their care. Staff knew them well and responded well to people.

People, their relatives and staff felt listened to. Any complaints raised had been investigated and responded to. Staff felt able to speak up and had confidence in the new management team.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 11 August 2023) and there were breaches of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

This service has been in Special Measures since 10 August 2023. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.