Willow House Residential Home

Updated 27 January 2018

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 23 November 2017 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.

Before the inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service including statutory notifications sent to us by the registered manager about incidents and events that occurred at the service. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. In addition we reviewed the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used this information to plan the inspection.

During the inspection we spent time and spoke with five people who lived at Willow House. We gained feedback from one relative and a visiting nurse who had experience of the service. We looked around the premises and observed care practices on the day of our visit.

We reviewed six people’s care records including their medicines administration records. We looked at four staff files including recruitment, training, supervision and duty rotas. We read other records relating to the management of the service that included incident reports, safeguarding concerns, complaints and audits to monitor quality of the service.

Updated 27 January 2018

The inspection of Willow House took place on the 23 November 2017. The inspection was unannounced and undertaken by one adult social care inspector. At the last inspection, in August 2015, the service was rated Good overall and Requires Improvement in the safe domain as we could not always reconcile medication stocks with records. At this inspection we found the service had improved where required and has been rated Good in all five domains.

Willow House provides accommodation and personal care for up to 30 older people, some of who were living with dementia. There were 29 people living there at the time of our inspection.

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.

People were protected from the risks of harm, because staff understood their responsibilities to protect people from harm and to share any concerns with the registered manager. The registered manager checked staff's suitability for their role before they started working at the home and made sure there were enough suitably skilled staff to support people safely and effectively.

Risks to people's individual health and wellbeing were identified and care was planned to minimise the risks. Medicines were stored, administered and managed safely and the registered manager regularly checked the premises and equipment were safe for people to use.

People told us they were happy with the variety and choice of meals available to them. We saw regular snacks and drinks were provided between meals to ensure people received adequate nutrition and hydration.

The registered manager and staff understood their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. Staff worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 because people were encouraged to be as independent as possible and empowered to take responsibility for their own lives and make their own decisions.

People were treated with dignity and respect by staff who demonstrated a caring, kind and compassionate approach. Staff understood the needs of people and people and their relatives were involved in the planning of care and support. A variety of opportunities were provided for people to enable them to enjoy meaningful social interaction and reduce potential risks of social isolation. Care was planned to meet people's individual needs, abilities and preferences. Care plans were regularly reviewed and updated when people's needs changed.

The service had an open and inclusive culture and people, their relatives and staff were positive about the way it was managed. The provider and registered manager had established quality assurance systems and regular audits were being completed. Issues identified were addressed in a timely manner. People's feedback was sought in order to improve the service.