Willow View Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Learning culture
• Safe systems, pathways and transitions
• Safeguarding
• Involving people to manage risks
• Safe environments
• Safe and effective staffing
• Infection prevention and control
• Medicines optimisation

At our last inspection the key question was rated inadequate. At this assessment the key question has been rated good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm. People were supported to remain safe and staff showed a good understanding of the safeguarding process. One relative we spoke with told us, "[Name] is in a safe place and the staffing has improved. Staffing was provided by a consistent and well-trained team who told us they were well supported. Recruitment was carried out safely and involved people who used the service. Medicines were stored and administered safely. The service was clean and equipment was well maintained. One person told us, "I’m safe being here and the place is very clean." The manager had good oversight of accidents and incidents and we saw learning was shared via meetings and handovers. Staffing was provided at safe levels.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

People said the service met their needs. They felt involved in all aspects of their care and support and how it was delivered. One person told us, “The staff are on the ball. We keep each other company and that's more important than anything." Relatives told us that they felt able to share their feedback about the service.

The manager told us about processes and checks that were now in place to identify daily issues and risk and staff we spoke with also said, "We now do daily flash meetings to ensure we are up to date with checks and everyone is aware of their role and responsibility."

The manager effectively monitored the quality and safety of the service and ensured people experienced positive outcomes from the support they received. Action plans were used to monitor whether the changes implemented had improved the service. They used all feedback to assist them improve the quality of care. The team ensured any lessons learnt were shared with staff via meetings and supervision sessions.

People told us they felt safe. The service ensured care and support plans contained pertinent information about people’s needs and preferences to enable staff to provide appropriate and safe care. We saw people now had access to a clean environment with safe equipment. One relative said, “I feel he is safe, I can sleep at night. He has a lovely clean room."

The manager discussed with us the plans they had in place to ensure effective transitions to people moving into the service. They told us they undertook a full assessment as it was really important to ensure the person would fit into life at Willow View. Staff ensured they spent time with people to learn how best to support them as they transitioned into the home.

One of the district nurses told us, "The carers are all very keen to work with our service to gain the best care for their residents." A visiting community matron told us, "I can see the change in morale in the staff team. Residents have always been well looked after. Staff to follow my directions really well. I don’t have any concerns."

Systems were in place to ensure people transitioned to the home in a safe manner and there was continuity of care and support. The manager told us they would only accept people when they were confident they could meet all aspects of the care and support required. The manager ensured care and support plans contained pertinent information about people’s needs and preferences to enable staff to provide appropriate care.

We observed people were happy, comfortable and confident with the staff team who were supporting them. People told us how staff supported them to stay safe. Relatives we spoke with all felt their relations were safe, one told us, "The best part is she is safe, when she first came in I went home and slept for the first time in ages, all the family visit so she has someone every day."

Staff members we spoke with all understood safeguarding and how to report any concerns. Staff said they were confident the management team would take the appropriate action in relation to any concerns. The manager kept a clear record of any safeguarding incidents and reviewed these for learning.

Staff were caring and spoke with people in a respectful and dignified manner. They had a good understanding of people’s needs and how to promote and maintain their safety, for example by using appropriate equipment to ensure people safely transferred and mobilised.

The provider had safeguarding systems in place. When appropriate staff had made safeguarding alerts to the local authority safeguarding team and sent us the required notifications and reports. Staff said they had training and a good understanding of what to do to make sure people were protected from harm or abuse.

People were supported to manage risk positively. One person told us, “They are very kind I’ve enjoyed the company, I’m safe being here and the place is very clean."

Staff understood when people required support to reduce the risk of avoidable harm. Risk assessments in place were detailed and staff reported they assisted them to safely mitigate risks.

We saw good levels of communication at handover. We also received very positive feedback from visiting professionals about the service and staff team, one professional told us, "They are very proactive."

The manager had an effective system in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service and ensure people achieved positive outcomes. Systems were in place to ensure staff understood when people required support to reduce the risk of avoidable harm, and risk assessments were in place. The risk assessments were detailed and enabled staff to support people to take positive risks. We discussed with the manager that for some people who may display behaviour that could be difficult to manage, that guidance for staff to support people consistently was more detailed.

Everyone we spoke with told us they felt the home environment was safe and clean. People told us they were comfortable being supported by staff if they had mobility needs.

Staff we spoke with were able to tell us and show us how they used equipment to keep people safe. We saw that staff had been trained and were confident in supporting people in their environment. The management team ensured that the environment was safe by regular checks on the service and equipment. Staff had received training around adopting safe working practices and following best practices guidance but we saw the manager were keen to ensure that training was delivered on a face to face basis.

We saw the service was clean, tidy and free from clutter. We met with the housekeeping team who were knowledgeable, focused and motivated.

The service was clean and well maintained. We saw people and staff were proud of where they lived and worked. The manager and provider had worked to make significant improvements to the safety and quality of the environment and systems and processes were in place to keep the service clean and free from any hazards. There was ongoing refurbishment of the environment which was being delivered according to a plan being overseen by the manager.

People and relatives we spoke with felt there were enough staff on duty to meet their needs. One person told us, “Lovely staff from the nights to the days. Really well looked after. I feel very safe just have to pull the cord for attention and they come straight away." Relatives were also very complimentary about the staff team. One relative said, “The girls are lovely and I know he is getting well looked after."

Staff we spoke with said the manager was responsive if people's needs changed and more staff were needed. Staff were recruited safely and supported by supervisions. All the staff we spoke with said they felt well trained and supported.

We saw really good team work with staff working together and talking to each other to ensure everyone knew their role and job. We saw the service did have to use some agency staff, but we saw these staff were consistent and we had the following feedback from one relative saying, "The home use some agency staff and they have been really lovely, very caring and it makes a huge difference."

The provider had a system to regularly review the dependency needs of people to ensure staffing was provided at safe levels. Recruitment was safe. Newly appointed staff went through an induction period. This included training for their role, shadowing an experienced member of staff and having their competencies assessed prior to working independently with people.

Everyone we spoke with both people and relatives told us the home was clean and well maintained.

Staff were trained in IPC and knew how to keep people safe from infections. The head housekeeper said they were supported with equipment and training to ensure the service was clean. We spoke with the local lead infection control nurse who told us, "The manager asked for a walk around the home in July to identify any IPC issues that could be addressed ASAP and to arrange IPC training for the staff. At this time the manager employed a housekeeping lead, and l had a lot of input with them, they are very pro-active in IPC."

We spoke with the head housekeeper and observed the domestic team engaging with people and ensuring the service was clean and well kept. We observed staff members using appropriate PPE during mealtimes. All areas of the service were clean and free from clutter.

There were policies and procedures in place to support a safe, clean environment at the home. The management team undertook regular walk arounds as well as audits to ensure the service remained free from infection risks.

People received their time sensitive medicines at the correct time. Where people were prescribed medicinal patch’s application records had been improved to ensure these were applied safely. Topical medicines administration records were in place to support staff administering topicals for most people. However further work was needed to ensure these accurately reflected administration. Bowel monitoring processes had improved and there was greater oversight of people’s individual needs.

Staff told us that they received training in how to safely administer medication.

Medicines were stored securely; treatment rooms were clean and tidy and temperature monitoring was in place. Guidance was in place to support staff with administering medicines this included care plans and as and when required protocols. Processes had been put in place to ensure everyone had access to the medicines they needed. Improvements had been made to audit processes and leaders described how they were developing this further. Although most risks were identified continued work was needed to ensure that the oversight of medicines management, practices and administration kept people safe.