Willowdale

Updated 9 April 2020

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 completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

Willowdale is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. At the time of inspection, the registered manager had transferred and a new manager already working for the organisation was managing the home. They had applied to register with CQC.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Our planning considered the information we received from the registered manager since the last inspection which included; safeguarding incidents and serious incidents. 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 the manager, a senior member of staff, four care staff and two night staff. We spoke with a visiting dietician. We reviewed the care records of three people, medicine records and medicine storage for all people. We toured the building and reviewed maintenance records. We spent time with people who lived at the home and observed their experience and staff interactions. We spoke with the relatives of three people. We reviewed additional information related to training and DoLS applications which we requested be sent to us.

Updated 9 April 2020

About the service

Willowdale accommodates up to ten people with learning disabilities and complex needs. At the time of our visit ten people lived at the home.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

People received exceptionally person-centred care which reflected their needs and preferences. The provider employed lifestyle and communication coordinators to develop and review people's ability to communicate and engage with a broad range of activities. People were achieving outcomes beyond the expectations of their family.

People were protected from the risk of abuse and avoidable harm. Relatives were confident people were safe in the home and staff understood the risks people needed support to manage. Staff understood how to support people to manage risks and avoid harm.

People's needs had been holistically assessed in detail, plans of care helped ensure people's needs were met effectively. Staff had received enough training to support people effectively and achieve good outcomes. Staff supported people to meet their health needs. People were supported to have maximum choice and control in their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests.

Staff were kind and caring and were committed to supporting people they described as ‘being like family’. Staff supported people respectfully in ways which upheld their dignity. People's communication was supported to an exceptional level which enhanced their involvement and achieved very positive outcomes.

The service was well-led. The management team ensured the values of the organisation were understood by staff which helped support good practice. The manager followed good governance systems which helped ensure the quality of both care practice and record keeping was maintained.

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

Rating at the last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was good (published 23 August 2017). Since this rating was awarded the original 20 bed home has been divided into two ten bed homes. The service has changed their name and re-registered. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on our previous rating.