The Willows Nursing Home

On this page

• Overview
• Person-centred Care
• Care provision, Integration and continuity
• Providing Information
• Listening to and involving people
• Equity in access
• Equity in experiences and outcomes
• Planning for the future

Responsive – this means we looked for evidence that the provider met people’s needs.At our last assessment we rated this key question requires improvement. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant people’s needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

This service scored 71 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The providers systems did not always ensure peoples individual preferences were followed. People had been involved in creating their care and support plans and expressed their individual preferences. We saw peoples care plans included information about individual preferences, for example about personal care, meals and how people liked to spend their time. There was information about people’s life histories and emotional support needs. Care plans were reviewed regularly, and updates were shared with staff. Staff understood people’s needs and preferences and could describe how people preferred to have their support. A staff member told us about how peoples protected characteristics were considered as part of their care plans and the information these included to help them meet peoples needs. However, people told us they did not always have their preferences met for their care and support needs as there were sometimes limited staff available. People shared the example of not being able to access a bath or shower as often as they would like to or go out to the local shops. We spoke to the registered manager about this feedback, and they confirmed they would explore this in more detail with people at the home to ensure they were able to consistently have their needs and preferences met.

The provider understood the diverse health and care needs of people and their local communities, so care was joined-up, flexible and supported choice and continuity.People had care plans in place for staff to follow, where needed specialist input had been sought to develop the care plans. For example, where needed there was specialist advice included in care plans for people from speech and language therapists. The registered manager told us they worked with a range of different agencies to ensure people received effective support to meet their needs. Records we saw supported this

The provider supplied appropriate, accurate and up-to-date information in formats that were tailored to individual needs. The provider had systems in place to ensure people received information in line with the accessible information standards. People had individual communication assessments and care plans in place which set out how they needed to have information provided. Staff could describe how they used different communication styles to meet individual needs, and we observed staff following these plans.

The provider made it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment and support. People and relatives told us they were aware of how to raise concerns or share their views about the service. They confirmed the registered manager was approachable and would feel confident raising concerns with any of the staff or management team. We saw where complaints had been raised there was a system in place to investigate and respond to these. A log showed people and relatives had raised concerns, and an investigation had been undertaken and a response given. For example, where people had missing clothing, this had been investigated and resolved. The registered manager told us they shared learning with staff and recorded on a log all learning from complaints. Records showed where learning had been identified, this has been shared with staff. For example, learning from hospital discharges had been shared with local partners to enable system-based learning and staff had received information about the uniform policy following learning from an infection prevention and control visit.

The provider made sure that people could access the care, support and treatment they needed when they needed it. The provider had systems in place to ensure people could access the support they needed. Adaptations and equipment were in place based on peoples individual assessed needs and staff were aware of how to use these to support people. People had access to adapted bathrooms, with a choice of bathing facilities to meet individual needs and staff could describe how they used different equipment to support individuals. Where people needed access to specialist support to guide their care, this was accessed by staff and the advice given was included in peoples care plans.

Staff and leaders actively listened to information about people who are most likely to experience inequality in experience or outcomes and tailored their care, support and treatment in response to this. The provider had a policy in place to ensure people using the service, employees and those engaged in the service were treated equitably irrespective of their protected characteristics. The policy set out the principles and values of the organisation and the commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. Staff understood how to apply the policy and could give examples of how the care plans for individuals guided how they supported people. Peoples protected characteristics were considered in care plans giving staff details on how to support people and staff understood this information and used it to provide person centred care and support to people.

People were supported to plan for important life changes, so they could have enough time to make informed decisions about their future, including at the end of their life. The registered manager told us end of life care plans were in place for everyone and these were updated with key information as appropriate, if people required end of life care. We saw plans were in place which gave staff information about how people wanted to be supported. Staff could describe their experiences of supporting people at the end of their life and understood the importance of ensuring people were engaged in planning for this. Feedback from people’s relatives showed staff were following people’s individual end-of-life care plans.