Willowbank

Updated 4 December 2020

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe, and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 24 November 2020 and was announced.

Updated 4 December 2020

This unannounced inspection took place on 7 June 2018. Willowbank is a 'care home' for up to 18 older people, including people living with dementia. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. At the time of our inspection there were 16 people living there. There were three communal areas that people could choose to sit in and an accessible garden that people could go out to at any time.

At our last inspection we rated the service good, with an outstanding rating in responsive. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good in three domains and outstanding for responsive and caring. There was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated risks or concerns.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. They provided leadership to the home to ensure that the values of respecting each individual and providing exceptional care was embedded.

Staff provided sensitive, compassionate care and responded very promptly to people’s needs. They understood each individual’s diverse requirements and ensured they met them. This included adaptations to maintain and encourage their independence. They worked in partnership with people’s families to ensure that their personal histories were understood. The staff also adopted different communication methods to ensure that they could assist everyone to make choices about their care.

People continued to receive outstanding personalised care and support which was built on their preferences. There was close collaboration with other professionals to get the best outcomes for people to maintain their health and wellbeing. The outcomes of careful assessment with the professionals and with families led to extremely detailed care plans. All staff had an excellent knowledge about people’s needs and ensured that they were met and regularly reviewed. They also used this knowledge to plan activities and interaction which promoted people’s mental and physical wellbeing. This included developing community partnerships and employing specialists.

The staff team were well trained and supported to have the skills to achieve good outcomes for people. This included in delivering end of life care and families we spoke with told us they were exceptional in supporting people through this time. They also were trained to develop their skills in clinical observations so that they could work in partnership with other professionals to respond swiftly to changes in people’s health. This included detailed analysis of any accidents or incidents to ensure that appropriate actions and referrals were made.

People continued to receive safe care. There were enough staff to support them and they were recruited to ensure that they were safe to work with people. Staffing levels were planned around individual need to keep people safe from harm. People were protected from the risk of harm because staff understood how to support them safely including using equipment. Medicines were administered to each person in an individualised way. They were recorded, stored and disposed of safely. The risk of infection was controlled because the home was clean and hygienic.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. They had enough to eat and drink and staff were extremely attentive in supporting them in this. The environment was modernised and had signs and pictures in it to assist people to be safe and to be able to orientate.

There was a strong commitment of continual improvement from every staff member; from the leadership team to staff whose roles were not in direct care. There were innovative approaches to developing the service. The whole staff team worked closely with other professionals and valued their input in assisting them to get good outcomes for people. Governance systems were fully embedded and closely monitored and reviewed.