Willows Edge

We found the following examples of good practice.

The service collaborated closely with multi-disciplinary teams and hospital discharge teams to ensure people were admitted into the home safely. Staff followed guidance to ensure visitors were prevented from catching and spreading infection. The registered manager openly shared information with friends and family about any infections, so they could understand decisions regarding visiting and any restrictions.

The provider was committed to ensuring the mental wellbeing of people during the pandemic, by enabling them to remain in contact with those who were important to them. For example, an internal, mobile perspex pod had been installed in a visiting room, only accessible through an external door, to reduce the risk of infection.

Staff worked with family members and community professionals to protect people identified to be experiencing low mood and anxiety, from the risks associated with social isolation. Effective partnership working with occupational therapists had promoted people's independence and increased their mobility. This helped to mitigate the risks of deconditioning occurring to frail, older people, whose normal activities had been curtailed by the pandemic.

People who were living with dementia experienced associated sensory impairments. Staff had collaborated effectively with the local authority Sensory Needs Team to implement additional/alternative resources to improve people's quality of life during the pandemic. Staff ensured effective communication was promoted and facilitated by using visual aids and prompts.

Staffing was maintained at a level significantly above that shown to be required by the provider's staffing needs analysis. This enabled staff to be designated to specific floors and reduce the risk of infection. The provider also deployed additional contract cleaning staff, to concentrate on high risk and high touch areas, immediately following staff contact, to reduce the risk of infection.

The provider had worked effectively in partnership with the local authority clinical commissioning group (CCG). The registered manager had acted upon the recommendations and guidance of the CCG infection prevention and control specialist nurse, to improve standards of practice to keep people safe.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found