The Willows Domiciliary Care Ltd

Updated 1 September 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 30 July 2021 and ended on 16 August 2021. We visited the office location on 04 August 2021.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

We started the inspection remotely. We spoke with four people using the service and five people’s relatives. We received feedback from two health and social care professionals. We reviewed four people’s care records. We spoke with the registered manager and reviewed a range of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, training and supervision records.

During the inspection

We spoke with the three directors of the service, which included the registered manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We reviewed a range of records. This included people’s care records and multiple medicines records. We looked at six staff files in relation to recruitment, training, staff supervision and disciplinary matters. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, such as quality assurance records, were also reviewed.

After the inspection

We spoke with a further two people and received feedback from two relatives. We received feedback from 11 members of staff. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 1 September 2021

About the service

The Willows Domiciliary Care Ltd is a domiciliary care service providing care to people in their own homes. The service is registered to support people who may live with dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities, sensory impairments and are aged over 65.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of the inspection, the service was providing care to 72 people, 48 of which were receiving personal care.

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

People, their relatives and staff told us they felt the service was safe. Staff had received safeguarding training and were confident about reporting concerns. Staff were recruited safely. The service had robust infection prevention and control processes. People received their medicines as prescribed from trained staff whose competence was regularly reviewed.

People had detailed, person-centred care plans and risk assessments. People and their relatives were involved in assessing and reviewing their care. There were robust induction processes. Staff received appropriate training and the provider had acted on staff feedback to arrange additional practical training. People received appropriate support to drink enough and maintain a balanced diet. The service worked closely with other agencies and professionals.

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. Staff spoke passionately about their role and people were consistently positive about how staff treated them with kindness and respect.

People were encouraged to provide feedback about their care and the provider thoroughly investigated complaints, when appropriate apologising to people. When people reached the end of their life, the service liaised with a variety of healthcare professionals to ensure they could continue providing safe, effective care in line with people’s wishes.

We received very positive feedback about the culture of the service and the management team. There were robust quality assurance processes in place. The management team were committed to continuously learning and improving the service and acted on feedback from people and staff.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 15 August 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

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