The Care Quality Commission
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  • Homecare service

Archived: Willowfields

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Whitehouse Street, Coseley, Bilston, West Midlands, WV14 8HE (0121) 521 5040

Provided and run by:
Midland Heart Limited

All Inspections

8 November 2016

During a routine inspection

The inspection took place on 8 and 9 November 2016 and was unannounced. At our last inspection on the 4 November 2015 the provider was rated overall as Requires Improvement. We found that improvement were required in the Safe, Effective and Well led questions. We found from this inspection that improvements had been made.

Willowfields is registered to provide personal care services to older adults in their own homes as part of an extra care scheme. On the day of the inspection, 34 people were receiving support. There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act (2008) and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Care staff knew what actions to take where people were at risk of harm and people felt safe. Medicines were managed as they were prescribed and people were able to get pain relief as needed.

Care staff were able to get support as needed and they had the appropriate skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs. People were only supported with their consent and care staff showed a good understanding of the mental capacity act and its potential impact upon people’s human rights where they lacked capacity.

People were involved in sharing their views as part of the assessment process and how they were supported by care staff. People’s views were also gathered as part of the review process and any decisions made about their support involved them. People were encouraged to be as independent as they could and their privacy and dignity was respected.

The provider had a complaints process to enable people to share any concerns they had about the service they received.

The appropriate systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service by way of regular checks and audits.

The provider carried out surveys so people could share their views on the service and meet with the registered manager on a regular basis.

4 and 5 November 2015

During a routine inspection

The inspection took place on the 4 and 5 November 2015 and was announced. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice that we would be visiting the service. This was because the service provides domiciliary care and we wanted to be sure that staff would be available.

We found concerns in March 2014 with the amount of care staff working to ensure people were kept safe. We asked the provider to send us an action plan outlining how they would make improvements and we considered this when carrying out this inspection.

Willowfields is registered to provide personal care services to people in their own homes as part of an extra care scheme. On the day of the inspection, 23 people were receiving support from the service in their own home. A recently appointed manager was in post who had applied to register to manage the service, there was however a registered manager still in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act (2008) and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us the service they received was safe, but there was not always enough staff to ensure the support people received was consistent.

Medicines were generally administered safely, although errors had been made which people said was due to the inconsistent staffing situation.

Whilst we found that the provider had a procedure and guidance in place around the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), care staff had limited knowledge of the impact of the MCA on people and staff were not all receiving MCA training consistently.

Other than this, we found that staff were supported sufficiently to do their job.

People told us that care staff were ‘Caring’, ‘Compassionate’ and ‘Kind’. Our observations confirmed this.

People’s privacy and dignity was being respected.

People told us they were involved in the care planning process, this ensured they were able to make choices and decisions about the support they received.

The provider had a complaints process which people told us they were aware of and knew who to complain to.

People, relatives, professionals and care staff told us the service was not well led as there was not a regular manager in post and not enough care staff.

The provider made available a suggestion box and questionnaire to gather people’s views about the service and they were also able to attend regular meetings with the registered manager.

Notifiable events were not being reported to us consistently as required within the law.

You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

13 March 2014

During an inspection in response to concerns

We carried out this inspection to check on the care and support of people. There were 83 people living in the scheme on the day of our inspection and 28 people received care and support. We spoke with 18 people and five care workers. There were two managers and the operations manager supporting the inspection process.

Prior to this inspection we received concerning information about the services at Willowfields. This inspection looked at how people's safety and welfare was managed.

People told us that the care and support they received was what they wanted. Records showed that people's needs were assessed and risk assessments were in place to manage potential risks. Where risks were identified we saw evidence that appropriate actions were taken. One person said, "Very happy, staff very good can't fault them".

We found that the provider did not have enough staff to support people. People told us that on an afternoon they found shortages in staffing as response times were longer than expected. One person said, "I think an additional member of staff is needed. Staff tell you to wait a minute and are always rushed".

18 November 2013

During a routine inspection

We carried out this inspection to check on the care and welfare of people. There were 90 people living in the scheme on the day of our inspection and 32 people received care and support services. We spoke with three people, two members of staff, and the registered manager.

We found that people's records we looked at all had the appropriate consent recorded. One person said, "I did sign my support plan to give consent".

People we spoke with told us they were happy with the support they received from staff. Records showed that people's support needs were recorded appropriately.

The provider had a medication policy in place and care workers were appropriately trained to administer medicines. One person said, "I am very happy with the support I get for my medication".

We found that care workers were appropriately qualified and there were enough care workers to meet people's needs.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service people received.

19 February 2013

During a routine inspection

People who use the service said that they were well looked after. They told us that the staff always asked them how they would like things to be done, always respected their privacy and treated them with respect. They said staff talked to them about how they liked their support to be provided.

People said that they were treated with respect and their privacy was maintained. They said that the staff were always polite and helpful.

We asked what they thought of their care and they replied with comments like 'They are very good' and 'Absolutely brilliant'.

People told us that they felt able to raise any issues with the manager or staff should they have any concerns. Staff talked of their awareness of how to keep people safe from harm. Staff told us about the training that the service had arranged for them so that they would recognise abuse and how to report it.

People told us that staff were punctual and reliable. People's relatives and friends told us that staff were always friendly and professional. One person said 'They are always there when you need them' and another said 'They are lovely'.

People we spoke with said their comments were listened to. A relative said that they would not hesitate to talk to staff if something was wrong.

9 January 2012

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out this review to check on the care and welfare of people using this service.

We spoke to three people who live and receive personal care from Willowfields care staff. People told us that they were happy with the care they received. People told us that staff were respectful and provided assistance when they needed it. One person told us, "The staff here are very good, they always give me the assistance I need and ask if I need any other help". One person told us, "I would recommend the care here to anyone".

People told us that although they had an agreed number of visits, if they wanted to stay in bed, or stay up later than planned, care staff would come back later to assist them. People told us that they mostly have their main meal in the communal dining room but staff would also provide a meal or a sandwich in their flat if they wished.