Willow Tree Nursing Home

Updated 22 December 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 team consisted of 2 inspectors and a specialist nurse advisor.

Service and service type

Willow Tree Nursing 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 Tree Nursing 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

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information received since our last inspection and sought feedback from the local authority. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

During the inspection we spoke with 4 people and 5 relatives for feedback on their experiences of the care provided. We spoke with 9 members of staff including the registered manager, manager, deputy manager, operational manager, a senior care worker, a nurse and care workers. We looked at 5 people’s care plans and a number of medication records. We also looked at a variety of records related to the management and governance of the home including recruitment files, audits and environmental checks.

Updated 22 December 2023

About the service

Willow Tree Nursing Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 47 people. The service provides support to older people and those living with dementia across 2 floors. At the time of our inspection there were 32 people using the service.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

People were not always protected from the risk of infection as staff were not consistently following safe infection prevention and control practices. Overall, the provider assessed risks to ensure people were safe and staff took action to mitigate identified risks. However, we identified some areas of risk had not been assessed and some management plans required greater detail. The provider’s system did not always effectively monitor the quality of care provided to drive improvements.

People were safeguarded from abuse and avoidable harm. There were enough staff to provide safe care, but some staff told us they were rushed and wanted more time to spend with people beyond providing physical care. The provider operated safe recruitment processes. People were supported to receive their medicines safely. People were able to receive visitors without restrictions in line with best practice guidance. The provider learned lessons when things had gone wrong.

There was a positive and open culture which helped achieve good outcomes for people. We received positive feedback from staff, people and their relatives about management and how the care provided had a positive impact on people’s health. The provider understood their responsibilities under the duty of candour. When there were changes in people’s health, they were referred to external health professionals to improve their outcomes.

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. However, we identified a decision regarding 1 person’s care that needed to be reviewed to ensure this was in their best interests and the least restrictive option. The provider confirmed this decision and the care would be reviewed to ensure the principles of the Mental Capacity Act were followed.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 3 March 2022).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staffing, infection control, pressure care and the timely management of continence care. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Willow Tree Nursing 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.