Willow Park Care Home

Updated 9 November 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 3 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 Park Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Willow Park Care Home is a care home registered with nursing care but was not providing nursing care to anyone in the service. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. A new manager had been in post for 6 weeks and had applied to register. We are currently assessing this application.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed all the information we had received about this service since it’s registration under the new provider in 2019. We requested feedback from stakeholders, including local safeguarding and commissioning teams. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 12 people who used the service and 5 relatives about their experience of care provided. We gathered feedback from 11 staff members including the manager, regional support manager, unit manager, kitchen staff, activities staff and care staff. We also spoke with 2 visiting professionals.

We reviewed a range of records including 8 peoples care plans, risk assessments and medicines records. We looked at 5 staff files in relation to recruitment and training. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies, procedures and quality assurance records. Following the site visit, we reviewed further information and evidence from the provider including action plans, compliance reports, feedback forms and medicine records.

Updated 9 November 2022

About the service

Willow Park is a nursing home providing accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care for up to 64 people. The service provides support to people who have physical health needs and conditions such as Dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 57 people using the service.

The home is set out across 3 floors, each of which has adapted facilities. Each bedroom has an en-suite facility. One floor specialised in providing care to people living with dementia and another floor supported people with complex care needs. There were communal areas, dining rooms, a bar, hair salon and an area acting as a library.

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

People and relatives spoke positively about the care received from the staff team and the manager.

People were protected from the risk of abuse by staff who were trained and knowledgeable about safeguarding. People’s risks were appropriately assessed, and the provider sought advice from relevant professionals where appropriate.

Sufficient numbers of staff were available to meet people’s needs. One person said, “There’s plenty of staff here to cover any eventuality.” The provider appropriately supported staff through induction, training and supervision. The manager was seeking additional training to the mandatory training provided to develop staff’s knowledge around infection, prevention and control and Dementia. The provider followed safe recruitment practices.

People's medicines were not always managed in safe way. Governance oversight and record keeping concerns meant people were at risk of not having their medicines managed in a safe way. The provider addressed the record keeping concerns during the inspection process. We found no evidence of harm to people.

We have made a recommendation the provider embeds the current quality assurance processes in practice to ensure the safe management of medicines.

People’s care plans were mostly reflective and person-centred. The provider was transitioning to electronic care planning and actively reviewing people’s needs to identify shortfalls.

People were supported by staff who were caring and respected their dignity. Staff sought consent from people when offering care. People were encouraged to express their views and be involved in decisions about their care.

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 relatives spoke positively about person-centred activities within the service. We saw evidence of feedback surveys conducted by the activities staff to ensure people were not at risk of social isolation.

People and staff spoke positively about the culture of the service and the manager. The management team were new to the service and were working proactively and promptly to drive service improvement, including embedding quality assurance processes and improve record keeping.

We have made a recommendation the provider continues to embed governance oversight around record keeping.

The provider used a variety of channels such as surveys, meetings, complaints and compliments to learn lessons and encourage improvement.

We found the service worked effectively with other health and social care professional and feedback from other professionals was positive.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was Good, published on 27 February 2018.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and to inspect the service under the new provider.

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 the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Willow Park Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.