Willow Court

Updated 18 April 2019

'We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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.'

Inspection team: Consisted of one inspector, two assistant inspectors and a specialist nurse who had experience and knowledge about the needs of people who resided at this service.

Service and service type: Willow court is a care service. People in care services receive accommodation and personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection: This inspection was unannounced.

What we did: We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection, including the provider information return. This gives some key information about the service, what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make. Other information included a review of statutory notifications which are events, accidents or incidents that the provider must notify us about, such as accidents or incidents. We sought feedback from the local authority, and the clinical commissioning group (CCG) and other professionals who work with the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with 11people and three relatives to ask about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 8 members of care staff, a member of the domestic team, the cook, the care coordinator, activities staff, two volunteers, the registered manager and the deputy manager along with a representative from head office. During the inspection we spoke with two visiting professionals from health care.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people's care and medicine records. We also looked at four staff files around staff recruitment, various records in relation to training and supervision of staff, records relating to the management of the service and a variety of policies and procedures developed and implemented by the provider.

Updated 18 April 2019

About the service: Willow court is a care service that provides personal care and accommodation for up to 81 people, some of whom live with dementia. At the time of the inspection 67 people lived at the service. Most people lived there permanently, and there were two short stay respite rooms. The accommodation was arranged over two floors. There were four living areas which included two 25 bedded living areas and two smaller living areas one with 16 bedrooms and the other with15. Each area had multiple communal areas, a dining room and there was a central café which was accessible to all people.

People’s experience of using this service: There was a warm, welcoming and very friendly atmosphere. The registered manager had developed a person-centred culture. The care and support provided to people who lived with dementia was consistently excellent and staff worked hard to understand people's individual needs.

Staff were extremely responsive towards people’s needs and care requirements. People and relatives told us they were fully involved in the development and review of their care plans.

Staff showed exceptional care and compassion when caring for people at the end of their lives.

The service was committed to assisting people to pursue their interests which created a sense of belonging and purpose. A range of activities were on offer to ensure a variety of opportunities which reflected people’s interests and differing abilities.

The registered manager was passionate about providing person centred care and this was reflected in every aspect of the service. People and relatives were empowered to share ideas to help improve the service. People and family members were asked to provide feedback and the results were positive. People’s views were considered and had been used to make changes in various areas including the environment, menus and activities.

Partnerships had been developed with the community and with health and social care professionals.

A range of regular checks had been completed to review the quality of the care and any areas where improvements were required. Actions were in place to make continual improvements to the service.

People’s safety had been considered and risks had been assessed and measures put in place to reduce the risks. Staff had received training in relation to safeguarding and knew how to protect people from harm. Medicines were managed safely. The risk to any infection was reduced by the maintenance of high standards of hygiene.

People enjoyed the food and their nutritional needs were met. People enjoyed living at the service and told us staff were kind and respectful of their choices. There were sufficient staff to meet their needs and staff were recruited in accordance with the providers recruitment policy.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People’s cultural and spiritual needs were met and information was available in different formats to support understanding. There was a registered manager at the service and the rating was displayed at the service and on their website. When required notifications had been completed to inform us of events and incidents, this helped us the monitor the action the provider had taken.

Rating at last inspection: Good (Published August 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. At this inspection we found the service continued to be Good, and in one area had improved to Outstanding.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.