SeeAbility - The Willows

Updated 9 January 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 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.

This inspection took place on 30 November and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because the location was a small care home for adults who are often out during the day. We needed to be sure that someone would be at the home. The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We spoke to one person and four staff members including the deputy manager and regional manager. We carried out general observations throughout the day and referred to a number of records. These included three care plans, two recruitment files, records around medicine management, policies around the running of the service, and how the organisation audits the quality of the service.

Following the inspection, we spoke to three relatives by telephone for their feedback.

Updated 9 January 2019

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. At the time of our inspection there were eight people living at the service who had a visual impairment and learning disability amongst other care needs.

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.

People were protected by staff who were aware of safeguarding procedures. Relatives told us they felt their loved ones were safe, and there were a just enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff were recruited safely, and risks to people were identified and appropriately recorded and managed. Medicine administration and recording was safe, as were infection control practices. Accidents and incidents were recorded and monitored for trends.

Robust pre-assessments were completed to ensure that people’s needs could be met. People were 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 were aware of the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and people’s rights were protected. Staff were up to date with relevant training and had regular supervision with their line manager. People were supported to maintain their health and nutritional needs.

Staff treated people in a caring and kind manner, and staff were knowledgeable about people’s needs. People’s independence and privacy was respected and promoted. Staff were aware of how to support people to express their opinions, and people attended a representatives group to drive improvement in the service and at Seeability as a whole.

People received care and attended activities that were responsive to their needs. Rooms felt homely from people being able to personalise them with furniture, pictures and decorations. People were supported to maintain their faith and to raise complaints. End of life care plans were detailed and expressed people’s individual last wishes. Staff supported people following the recent death of a person who lived at the service.

There was a warm and positive culture in the service. Relatives and staff said that the deputy manager was approachable, and a new manager had been employed who would shortly be starting at the service. The provider actively sought feedback from people, relatives and staff, and there was strong engagement with a range of external stakeholders. There were robust quality governance systems in place to identify any issues which were resolved in a timely manner.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.