About the service Willowhurst provides personal care and accommodation for up to five young people with mental health support needs. The service aims to provide an alternative to hospital. There is a central hub where mental health professionals are based. Young people access their services by visiting the hub in a nearby town and also receive some home visits. The service promotes independence and responsibility for young people who are actively involved in their plans for the future. At the time of the inspection there were three people living in the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were not always safe. Staff did not have the training and qualifications the provider had identified to commissioners. No staff had completed either Level 2 or 3 in health and social care. Although staff said they understood the therapeutic model based on Safewards for Safehomes, some staff reported they had not had any introductory training in relation to mental health conditions and would have valued this.
Staff told us effective management and oversight had not always been maintained. There was an acting manager in post, who planned to register with CQC. Staff told us they felt there had been an inconsistency in support from the provider which had impacted on the experience of young people living in the home. On call facilities were available as a contingency from managers and mental health professionals, however, staff had mixed views about how useful they had found this.
We have identified a breach in relation to Governance because we found there had not been effective oversight by the registered manager and provider. We have made recommendations in relation to staffing, training and responding to risks.
Young people we spoke with were positive about their experiences living in Willowhurst. Staff we spoke with reported enjoying working there and were committed to supporting young people.
Young people were fully involved in developing their care plans which were highly person centred. Young people were encouraged to develop their independence and have ownership of their decisions. We saw young people achieved positive outcomes and had moved on from the service.
Young people were supported by caring and compassionate staff. Staff actively promoted young people's equality, diversity and human 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.
Rating at the last inspection
This service was registered with us on 25 September 2020 and this is the first inspection. Prior to this date the service had been registered with the hospitals inspectorate.
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about risk management and staffing levels. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
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.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.
Follow up
We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.