15 March 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
The Willows Nursing and Residential Home is a residential care home providing the regulated activity personal and nursing care to up to 57 people. The service provides support to older people. At the time of our inspection there were 32 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Some improvements were required to the physical environment. The building was safe, but was tired and in need of redecoration and maintenance in several areas.
Risk assessments were in place to manage risks within people’s lives, and staff understood how to manage risk. Staff recruitment procedures ensured that appropriate pre-employment checks were carried out. Medicines were stored and administered safely, and staff had training in this area. Staffing support matched the level of assessed needs within the service during our inspection. Staff were supervised and felt confident in their roles.
People told us they enjoyed the food prepared for them, and food and fluid intake was monitored when required. Healthcare needs were met, and people had access to health professionals.
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.
The registered manager was open and honest, and worked in partnership with outside agencies to improve people’s support when required. Audits of the service were in place and had identified areas for improvement.
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 requires improvement (published 23 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.
Why we inspected
We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 1 August 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.
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 and Well-led which contain those requirements.
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 The Willows Nursing and Residential 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.