4 May 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Willow Lodge is a care home registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 8 people who have experienced a head injury or neurological condition that has affected their mental health. The service specialises in rehabilitation and supporting people with complex needs following a brain injury and/or neurodegenerative conditions. The home is an adapted building covering three floors, which includes two self-contained flats suitable for independent living. At the time of inspection 8 people were living at the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The home had a recruitment process in place, but this had not always been followed. We have made a recommendation about recruitment practices within the home. The registered manager was responsive to address the shortfalls found within this inspection.
People told us they felt safe at Willow Lodge. One person told us, “I am perfectly safe, it’s perfectly clean and safe and polite, no problem at all.”
Care plans and risk assessments were person centred. Relatives told us staff knew their loved ones well. Comments included, “The staff have been amazing with settling in [Person’s name] and reassuring them and myself that they are safe at Willow Lodge” and, “The support workers go above and beyond, allowing [Person’s name] to visit any places they would like to go and encouraging different places which is great.”
Staff supported people in a kind and compassionate way, considering their dignity and respecting people’s rights. 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.
The culture of the home was open and focused on providing person-centred care. Staff told us they were proud to work at Willow Lodge. One staff member stated, “It is clear that the registered manager has the best interests of everyone and wants the house to work as a team to create a productive and positive culture. I feel as though all staff are there to support those who live there and there is always good energy between us.”
The registered manager worked jointly with health professionals to provide specialist support to people, involving their families and other professionals as appropriate. This helped people achieve increased independence through positive risk taking, setting goals and, where appropriate, to find their own accommodation if they so wished.
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 this service was good (published 10 September 2021).
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to staffing at night and medicine management. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe section of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Willow Lodge on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Recommendations
We have made a recommendation about recruitment.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.