Willow Court Nursing Home

Updated 1 October 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 one inspector. An Expert by Experience supported the inspection by phoning relatives. 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 Court Nursing 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 Court is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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 our inspection there was not a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). 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 reviewed the information we already held about the service including notifications. A notification is information about significant events sent by the provider to CQC. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We looked at six staff recruitment records and four care records. We reviewed a selection of medicine administration records and documents relating to the health and safety of the premises.

We spoke with eight staff including a deputy manager, a general assistant, a health care assistant and the clinical and care leads for the provider. We spoke with two people using the service.

We spoke with 12 relatives following our inspection. These conversations were carried out by phone by an Exert by Experience.

Updated 1 October 2022

About the service

Willow Court Nursing Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 66 people. The service provides support to adults, some of whom were living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 59 people using the service, 12 were permanent residents and 47 were receiving short term services.

The care home accommodates 66 people in single rooms over two floors. The premises are purpose built and rooms and communal areas are spacious and bright.

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

People were supported by well trained staff and relatives believed their family members to be safe. Risks were assessed and actions taken to reduce them and ensure people remained safe.

The premises were well maintained and all necessary checks and services took place.

Recruitment was safe and there were sufficient staff deployed with a planned increase shortly.

Medicines were safely managed and we were assured the provider has a high standard of infection prevention and control and was following current guidelines.

The previous registered manager had recently passed away and the service was being overseen by an acting manager who had previously been a deputy manager. There was an open-door approach to management and staff could approach the management team to address concerns.

The provider had an open and honest approach to care delivery and reported accidents and incidents and informed those involved as necessary.

The provider had forged good ongoing relationships with health and social care professionals.

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.

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 14 September 2018).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about skin integrity. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this report.

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Willow Court Nursing 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.