Background to this inspection
Updated
6 February 2021
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
This inspection was carried out by one inspector on site and an Expert by Experience who made telephone calls to people using the service. 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
This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
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.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was announced.
We gave a short period of notice of the inspection because we wanted to gather as much information before the site visit as possible. This enabled us to minimise the time spent on-site to ensure the safety of people, staff and the inspector in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inspection activity started on 13 January 2021 when we visited the office location. We spoke to staff on the phone on 14 January 2021.
What we did before the 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.
Before the inspection site visit we reviewed all the information we held about the service. We also asked for a number of records to be sent to us electronically. All of these were received.
We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection-
During the inspection we spoke with nine people who used the service, three relatives and six members of staff. We received written feedback from two people who used the service, four relatives and one member of staff. The registered manager was available throughout the inspection.
We reviewed a range of records which included four care plans, four staff files, minutes of staff meetings, quality assurance survey’s, records of complaints and compliments and various completed audits.
Updated
6 February 2021
About the service
My Willows (South West) is a domiciliary care provider. It provides care and support to people living in their own homes across the South West of England. The ethos of the service is to make a difference to people’s lives and support them to be independent in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting over 200 people.
Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were happy with the care they received and felt safe with the staff who supported them.
The agency promoted an ethos of encouraging people to maintain their independence. Risk assessments were used to enable people to carry on with their chosen lifestyle, with minimum risk to themselves and others.
Staff were following up to date infection prevention and control practices to keep people safe. Staff had good supplies of personal protective equipment and were undertaking regular testing for COVID-19.
People were supported by small teams of regular staff which enabled them to build trusting relationships and provided a consistent standard of care. People spoke highly of the staff who supported them.
People received person centred care and were able to make choices about all aspects of the care provided. People told us the service was flexible to cater for their individual needs.
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 were cared for by staff who were kind, caring and cheerful. People told us staff were always respectful and treated them with dignity.
Staff felt well supported and valued which led to a happy and confident staff team. Staff had access to training to maintain people’s safety and meet their specific needs. Staff told us they were proud to work for My Willows.
People were receiving their care from a service which was well managed by an experienced and competent management team. The management team, and all staff spoken with, were committed to providing people with a high-quality service.
The registered manager and provider had systems in place which constantly monitored standards and planned on-going improvements. These systems included seeking people’s views.
The registered manager was very open and approachable and welcomed feedback, good and bad, to enable them to learn and improve the care and support people received. People said they would be able to raise their concerns and were confident any issues raised would be addressed.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 25 April 2019 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.