Willowbeck Health Care Limited

On this page

• Overview
• Assessing needs
• Delivering evidence-based care and treatment
• How staff, teams and services work together
• Supporting people to live healthier lives
• Monitoring and improving outcomes
• Consent to care and treatment

Effective – this means we looked for evidence that people’s care, treatment and support achieved good outcomes and promoted a good quality of life, based on best available evidence.

At our last assessment we rated this key question good. At this assessment the rating has remained good. This meant people’s outcomes were consistently good, and people’s feedback confirmed this.
 

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider made sure people’s care and treatment was effective by assessing and reviewing their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them.

Assessments were completed prior to support starting. Care records were person centred and detailed. They included specialist advice and guidance on how best to support people and these were reviewed on a regular basis. We asked the provider to further review care plans to provide more specific guidance for some people around certain areas of support, for example fluid intake targets, frequency of repositioning and timescales for interventions when people were refusing personal care. The provider actioned this immediately.

Records included information about consent and whether people had capacity to make decisions.
 

The provider planned and delivered people’s care and treatment with them, including what was important and mattered to them. They did this in line with legislation and current evidence-based good practice and standards.

Staff completed training in relevant areas, such as nutrition and hydration or conditions specific to people supported, to ensure they could meet people’s needs safely and competently. Staff and management were aware of people’s preferences and things that were important to them. Staff told us they felt confident in delivering care to people and our observations supported this. One staff told us, “When I started, I was given enough time to work with people and get to know them. My team helped me. I have had training specific to mental health needs and physical health needs.”

Processes were in place to ensure appropriate support was provided to people. People’s needs were assessed before they came to use the service. Care records showed people were given choice and control about their care and support.
 

The provider worked well across teams and services to support people. They made sure people only needed to tell their story once by sharing their assessment of needs when people moved between different services.

Staff worked in partnership with health care professionals to provide effective care. Staff told us communication was effective, and they followed advice from healthcare professionals and felt comfortable seeking guidance whenever necessary.

We received positive feedback from professionals. One professional told us, “On the whole we have found Willowbeck to be very supportive.”

Processes were in place which supported staff to work together and alongside other professionals to meet people’s needs. Records showed people were supported to access healthcare professionals and services.
 

The provider supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. Staff supported people to live healthier lives and where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support.

Care records clearly detailed people’s health needs and how staff were to support them. They also set out how to encourage people to maintain their well-being and independence.

People were supported to access medical professionals as and when required. Timely referrals were made when any issues were noted, for example when a person’s health had deteriorated. One person told us, “Two weeks ago I needed a doctor. The doctor came here.”

The provider also provided access to a range of support options including an in-house physiotherapy team to assist with rehabilitation.

Training and guidance were available for staff in supporting people to manage a range of health conditions.

Processes supported people to be involved in the management of their own health, care and well-being. One person was working as an Expert by Experience with the university in the design and delivery of training related to people living with chronic health conditions.
 

The provider routinely monitored people’s care and treatment to continuously improve it. They ensured that outcomes were positive and consistent, and that they met both clinical expectations and the expectations of people themselves.

Processes were in place to include people in the regular monitoring of their care and support and the setting and review of outcomes.

There was a focus on using feedback to continuously improve people’s care. People living at the service were encouraged to influence support by involvement in both local and regional forums and ambassadors were appointed to represent people who lived at Willowbeck. One person told us, “They [provider] seem very progressive and value service user input.”

Regular audits were completed to ensure any improvements could be implemented and people’s outcomes were discussed during handover and staff meetings.

The provider told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment.

Staff received training in the Mental Capacity Act and understood the importance of ensuring that people fully understood what they were consenting to and the importance of obtaining consent before care was delivered. Some restrictions such as nighttime observations required further detail on why the checks were in place. The provider agreed to action this immediately.

People’s records included information on their preferred communication style and included a cognition and mental capacity care plan which detailed the actions to follow should there be any concerns in relation to understanding.

Overall, throughout our visits we observed staff offering people choices and checking consent before completing care tasks.