Willow Green Care Home

Updated 7 October 2023

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 was carried out by 2 inspectors 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 Green Care Home 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 Green Care Home 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

This inspection was unannounced. Inspection activity started on 12 September 2023 and ended on 14 September 2023. We visited the service on 12 September 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with 8 staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, group clinical lead, chef and care staff. We spoke with 7 people and 4 relatives about their views of the care provided. We reviewed the care records for 4 people, numerous medicines records, 4 staff recruitment and supervision files. We viewed records related to governance systems and processes and other documentation relevant to the running of the service. We also requested documentation to review related to staff training that was provided to us promptly after the inspection visit.

Updated 7 October 2023

About the service

Willow Green Care Home provides personal and nursing care for up to 63 younger and older adults living with a range of health conditions including dementia. At the time of inspection 53 people were using the service.

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

Care plans and risk assessments were person centred and reflective of people's current needs. Medicines were stored safely and were managed well. Quality audits clearly identified areas for improvement and ensured that people were safe and involved in their care and support. The culture of the service had significantly improved and feedback from staff, people and professionals echoed this.

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.

There were enough staff. Staff were recruited safely and received an induction to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to undertake their role. The staff team told us they were well supported and that they delivered person-centred care. We observed all the staff team working together well and interacting positively with everyone at the service.

Systems were in place to protect people from abuse. Staff demonstrated a good level of understanding in relation to safeguarding. Appropriate referrals to the local safeguarding team had been made. People and staff spoke positively about the registered manager and felt able to raise concerns and were confident that these would be addressed.

There were systems in place for communicating with people, their relatives, and staff to collect their views and feedback regarding people’s care and support.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 16 September 2022). 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.

At our last inspection we recommended that the provider made improvements in relation to assessing mental capacity. At this inspection we found the provider had made improvements.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced inspection of this service in June 2022. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment, staffing, dignity and respect and governance arrangements.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions safe, effective, responsive and well-led which contain those requirements.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Willow Green Care home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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