The Willows

The Willows is a 'care home'. 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.

The Willows accommodates 61 people across two separate units. One of the units specialises in providing care to people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 50 people living at the home.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained good.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC 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 and their relatives were very complimentary about the care they received.

People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Staff had completed safeguarding training and understood the provider's safeguarding policy. The culture was open and staff told us they felt able to report any concerns which would be acted upon by the management team.

There was enough staff to support people effectively. Throughout the inspection we saw staff supporting people, meeting their needs and spending time socialising with them. There was a recruitment plan in place, especially for night staff.

The provider had an effective recruitment and selection procedure in place and carried out relevant checks

when they employed staff.

Appropriate arrangements were in place for the safe management and administration of medicines.

Staff assessed risks to people's safety and developed plans to manage and mitigate those risks. Risk assessments were regularly reviewed and in line with changes in people's health and/or support needs. The home was very clean and well maintained.

Staff were supported to provide care to people through regular training, supervision and appraisal.

People were offered appropriate support with eating and drinking. Overall people were satisfied with the food available although some comments received suggested that the food could be variable. People's health needs were kept under review and referrals were made to health professionals where required.

Staff understood the importance in seeking people's consent. During the inspection we heard staff asking for people's consent before they assisted them with any support. Staff had received training in and understood the principles of The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

The provider and staff team placed emphasis on the importance of people's well-being. Throughout the inspection we observed staff who were friendly and caring in their approach. They knew people well and talked about things that were important and relevant to the person.

People told us that they were treated with dignity and respect. Staff had a good understanding of how to respect people's right to privacy.

There was a wide and varied range of activities available for people to take part in should they choose. There was a programme of activities, including music therapy and reflexology. People were supported to maintain their spiritual well –being and a chaplain was employed by the service. There was a "seize the day" initiative" which supported people to achieve specific goals.

Staff were responsive to people's needs and provided support in an individualised way.

Care plans were being re-written onto new documentation. We found that the care plans contained personalised information to help staff support people as individuals in a way that suited them best. There were some variations and some contained more individualised information than others. Staff received appropriate training in care planning.

We found occasional gaps in chart s which recorded the care that staff had provided to people. The registered manager told us she would address this.

Staff told us that communication was good and that a handover was undertaken at the start of each shift to update staff and share important information.

The provider had an effective complaints procedure in place and people who used the service and their relatives were aware of how to make a complaint.

People who used the service and their relatives spoke positively about the registered manager and the staff. They said that they were very approachable.

The provider had a robust quality assurance process in place. People who used the service, relatives and staff were regularly consulted about the quality of the service through meetings and surveys.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found