• Care Home
  • Care home

The Willows

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Corders Farm, Bury Road, Lawshall, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP29 4PJ (01284) 830665

Provided and run by:
Extrafriend Limited

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 14 February 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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector

Service and service type

The Willows is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. 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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and six relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, senior care worker, care workers, the activities co-ordinator and the chef. We spoke with two visiting healthcare professionals who regularly visit the service. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and medication records. We looked at one staff file in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 14 February 2020

About the service

The Willows is a residential care home providing personal care and accommodation for up to 25 people aged 65 and older. At the time of our inspection 22 people were living in the service.

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

People were happy living at The Willows and with the care they received. People felt safe and well-treated by staff. Staff were kind, considerate and treated people with respect and dignity.

People and relatives told us there were sufficient staff available to meet their needs in a timely manner. We received some mixed feedback from staff about this. We made a recommendation to the provider that they continue to monitor staffing levels closely. Some improvements were needed to the safe recruitment of new staff; however immediate action was taken by the registered manager to address this

Risk assessments were in place, providing guidance for staff in how to reduce risks and keep people safe from harm. People's medicines were administered as prescribed. Accidents, incidents and near misses were used as an opportunity to learn and make necessary improvements.

People were provided with a nutritious and varied diet and a choice of food to meet their preferences. Staff supported people to maintain their health and they sought timely advice from health professionals, when needed.

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, relatives and healthcare professionals were positive in their feedback about the leadership of the home and the quality of care delivered.

Systems were in place to ensure the service was monitored and the quality of care people received was maintained.

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

Rating at last inspection: Good. (report published 29 September 2017).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last comprehensive inspection. At this inspection, the service remained Good.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.