The Willows

Updated 24 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.

Our inspection took place on 20 November 2014 and was unannounced so no-one knew we would be inspecting that day. The inspection was conducted by one inspector.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a 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 also looked at information we held about the home.This included notifications received from the provider about deaths, accidents/incidents, safeguarding alerts which they are required to send us by law, and we spoke with commissioners from the local authority. We contacted Healthwatch to see if they had any information to share with us about the home. Healthwatch are an independent consumer champion, which promotes the views and experiences of people who use health and social care services.

During our inspection we spent time with people in the communal areas of the home. We spoke with three people living at the home, two staff, the registered manager and the provider. We spoke with three relatives via the telephone. We also used the short observational framework tool (SOFI) to help us assess whether people's needs were appropriately met and to identify if people experienced good standards of care. SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experiences of people who could not talk with us.

We looked at a range of documents and written records including three people's care records, staff training and recruitment records and minutes of meetings with staff. We saw the checks made by senior staff on the administration of people’s medicines. In addition, we looked how complaints processes were promoted and managed.

We also looked at information about how the registered manager monitored the quality of the service provided and the actions they took to develop the service people received further. These included quality questionnaires completed by people and their relatives, and checks made on the care planned for people and the suitability and safety of the home.

Updated 24 January 2018

The Willows is registered to provide accommodation and support for six people with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. There was a registered manager in post at the home. 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 (2008) Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The inspection took place on 14 December 2017 and was unannounced. At our last inspection in November 2014 the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good.

People and their relatives told us they continued to receive care which protected them from avoidable harm and abuse. Risks to people's safety were identified and measures were in place to help reduce these risks. When people required support to take their medicines this only happened when staff had received the training to do so. Regular checks on staff practices were undertaken to support people's safety. People and their relatives thought there enough staff to provide support to people and meet their needs.

People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

Staff had received training to provide them the skills and knowledge they needed to provide the right care and support people as required. People were provided with care which continued to be effective in meeting their individual needs.

People enjoyed spending time with the staff that cared for them and were treated with dignity and respect. People were encouraged to maintain their own personal interests and take part in activities within the home or out in the local community.

People's care was planned in ways which reflected their preferences and wishes. Relatives' and health and social care professionals' views and suggestions were taken into account when people's care was planned.

People knew how to complain. The complaint procedure was available in Easy Read Format so was accessible for everyone. Although people and their relatives had not made any complaints about the service provided.

People living at the home and their relatives were encouraged to give regular feedback on the service provided. The registered manager regularly checked the quality of the care people received. Where actions were identified these were undertaken to improve people's care further.