The Willows

Updated 1 July 2022

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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors.

Service and service type

The Willows 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. The Willows is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

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

Notice of inspection

This 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. 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. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We also spoke with four people living at the home to gather their views of the care provided.

We reviewed the care plans for six people living at the home and key parts of other people’s care plans to validate information in the management records we reviewed. We also looked at records relating to the administration of medicines and audits on the quality and safety of the care provided.

We spoke with the registered manager, the provider and four members of the care staff.

Updated 1 July 2022

About the service

The Willows is a residential care home providing regulated personal care to up to 30 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom may be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 27 people using the service. The service is in a two-story house.

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

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 home was not staffed to the level identified by the registered manager. While people’s needs were met, at times people had to wait for care. Additionally, staff were not always able to support people living with dementia when they were distressed. Furthermore, staff did not have time to support people to take part in meaningful activities.

Staff had received training in how to care for people safely. However, training records were not up to date.

People’s ability to eat and drink safely were identified, and care plans reflected those needs. However fluid intake was not completely recorded.

The home was clean, however some practices did not support good infection control.

There were audits in place to monitor the quality of care provided. They had not fully identified the concerns in the home.

We raised all these issues with the registered manager. They took immediate action to resolve our concerns.

People’s medicines were administered safely and risks to people were assessed using good practice guidelines. Staff were confident to raise safeguarding concerns and the registered manager worked with the local authority to investigate concerns.

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 24 August 2019).

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. The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last two consecutive inspections.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

Follow up

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