Willow Tree House

Updated 5 January 2022

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

The inspection was carried out by three inspectors 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

Willow Tree House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with seven people who used the service and seven relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with twelve members of staff including the provider, the registered manager, senior manager, senior care workers, care workers and the chef.

We reviewed a range of records. This included nine people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with one professional who regularly visited the service.

Updated 5 January 2022

About the service

Willow Tree House is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 60 people aged 65 and over. At the time of the inspection there were 24 people using the service some of whom were living with dementia. People are cared for over two floors with various communal areas being provided on the ground floor.

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

Risks were managed, and care plans had been updated to detail current risks and individual needs. Medicines were managed safely, and the service had implemented robust infection control measures. Staff were recruited safely and there were enough trained staff to meet people’s needs safely.

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. People and their relatives were involved in the planning and reviewing of their care. Records in place and our observations demonstrated people were supported to maintain a balanced diet.

People and their relatives told us they were involved in planning their care, records we reviewed supported this. Staff demonstrated kind, compassionate and caring attitudes and actively encouraged people to make their own choices.

Care plans we reviewed were person centred and detailed individual needs and preferences. Where concerns had been raised these had been acknowledged and responded to appropriately. People were supported to maintain relationships with their loved ones and a safe visiting process was in place.

The registered manager and senior management team had implemented a number of changes in order to improve the quality of care provided. Quality monitoring processes and actions following incidents had improved significantly. People and staff told us they felt management communicated well, listened and acted up on any issues they raised.

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

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 26 August 2021) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed monthly action plans after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

This service has been in Special Measures since 13 July 2021. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection. We also received concerns in relation to management of people’s continence needs, supporting people to make personal choice and safety of the service at night. As a result, we undertook a comprehensive inspection which we carried out during the night to examine those risks and follow up on previous action we told the provider to take.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from the concerns raised. Please see the safe, responsive, caring and well-led sections of this full report.

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will sustain the changes they have made and maintain their rating of good. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.