Latest Inspection
This is the latest available inspection report for this service, carried out on 25th September 2009. it is an annual review prepared by CQC after examining previous reports and information from the provider. At the time of this report, CQC judged the service to be Good.
The inspector made no statutory requirements on the home as a result of this inspection
and there were no outstanding actions from the previous inspection report.
For extracts, read the latest CQC inspection for The Willows.
Annual service review
Name of Service: The Willows The quality rating for this care home is: The rating was made on: two star good service 2 7 1 0 2 0 0 8 A quality rating is our assessment of how well a care home, agency or scheme is meeting the needs of the people who use it. We give a quality rating following a full review of the service. We call this review a ‘key’ inspection We do an annual service review when there has been no key inspection of the service in the last 12 months. It does not involve a visit to the service but is a summary of new information given to us, or collected by us, since the last key inspection or annual service review.
Has this annual service review changed our opinion of the service?
No You should read the last key inspection report for this service to get a full picture of how well outcomes for the people using the service are being met. The date by which we will do a key inspection: Name of inspector: Kim Rogers Date of this annual service review: 2 4 0 8 2 0 0 9 Annual Service Review Page 1 of 7 Information about the service
Address of service: 33 Stade Street Hythe Kent CT21 6DA 01303266963 Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address:
willows.hythe@craegmoor.co.uk Name of registered provider(s): Name of registered manager (if applicable) Miss Nicola Daines Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : learning disability Conditions of registration: Lothlorien Community Ltd Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 6 0 The maximum number of service users to be accommodated is 6 The registered person may provide the following category/ies of service only: Care home only - PC to service users of the following gender: Either whose primary care needs on admission to the home are within the following categories: Learning disability - LD Have there been any changes in the ownership, management or the Yes service’s registration details in the last 12 months? If yes, what have they been: The manager is now registered with us so she has passed the fit person process. 2 7 1 0 2 0 0 8 Date of last key inspection: Date of last annual service review (if applicable): Brief description of the service The Willows is registered to care for up to 6 people with a learning disability. The registered providers are Craegmoor Healthcare. All bedrooms are single and one has an en-suite facility. The home offered a full staff
Annual Service Review Page 2 of 7 compliment at the time of the report and the owning company supports on-going and updating training. The home is close to the centre of town with transport links and a variety of shops and entertainment facilities. There is parking at the premises. Fees are in the range of about 941 pounds to 1297 pounds per week. For more information please contact the Provider. Annual Service Review Page 3 of 7 Service update since the last key inspection or annual service review:
What did we do for this annual service review? We looked at all the information that we have received, or asked for, since the last key inspection or annual service review. This included, The annual quality assurance assessment (AQAA) that was sent to us by the service. The AQAA is a self-assessment that focuses on how well outcomes are being met for people using the service. It also gave us some numerical information about the service. Information we have about how the service has managed any complaints. What the service has told us about things that have happened in the service, these are called notifications and are a legal requirement. The previous key inspection and the results of any other visits that we have made to the service in the last 12 months. Relevant information from other organisations. What other people have told us about the service. What has this told us about the service? The manager sent us the Annual Quality Assurance Assessment or AQAA when we asked for it. The AQAA was well completed and gives us the information we need. The AQAA shows that the requirement and two recommendations made at the last key inspection on 27.10.08 have been met. The AQAA says they use a range of ways to seek peoples views about the service. They have regular service user meetings to give people who use the service the opportunity to air their views. Service users have the opportunity to attend meetings organised by the provider called Your Voice meetings. Issues and ideas from these meetings are published to service users and staff. They send out questionnaires to get the views of stakeholders like family members and have company audits to check the quality of the service. They have made changes based on peoples views including redecorating some parts of the home, supporting new activities and supporting people to find employment. Changes to the menu have been made following comments by people in the meals comments book. The AQAA shows that issues relating to equality and diversity are understood and supported. There is evidence as to why the home is value for money. The manager has identified a barrier to improvement and has ideas of how to overcome this so the home continues to improve. We found that the people who use the service have been involved in developing their Annual Service Review Page 4 of 7 care plans. Peoples aspirations and personal goals have been identified and recorded. This means that they should get the support they need to achieve their goals. The AQAA says that people have regular review meetings and that care plans are regularly reviewed. This means that any change in needs or goals can be identified and supported. The AQAA does not tell us much about the assessment procedure. They do plan to update the information about the home so people have up to date information about the service. They told us that they are working with people to develop their skills with money and medication. They are supporting people to gain employment and college places. This means that people will have more control and confidence. We found that people have support to access and be part of the community. People have support to make and maintain friendships. The AQAA says that people have support to make and attend health appointments. People have health action plans so staff know how to support people to remain well and healthy. There are policies and procedures in place to safeguard people from harm and abuse. Staff are trained in how to recognise and respond to potential harm and abuse. There is a complaints procedure that they plan to make more user friendly so more people can use it. They have supported people to speak out and dealt with some complaints since the last inspection. They continue to have a maintenance man employed to ensure the home is well maintained and safe. They plan to improve the kitchen and carry on with the redecorating programme. They say they have made the lounge more homely with input from service users. Service users are involved in keeping the house clean and maintaining the garden. Service users have been growing vegetables. This means that people can take part and increase their skills and interests. The AQAA shows the home is fully staffed with some longstanding staff who know service users well. To ensure that people have the right support they have increased staffing levels at night. The AQAA shows that recruitment checks are carried out before a person starts work at the home protecting service users. New staff have induction training and all staff are up to date with mandatory training like food safety, fire awareness and first aid. Nearly half of the staff have a National Vocational Qualification in Care at level 2 or above. The AQAA says that they are reviewing the length of shifts that staff work, currently up to 15 hours in case this impacts on outcomes for service users. The manager is now registered with us so she has passed the fit person process. The manager has the qualifications required by the Minimum Standard. The manager says she has support from an area manager who makes regular visits to the service. The manager says she is meeting staff more regularly for supervision. This means that staff have the opportunity to have support and mentoring. The manager says that communication between service users and staff has improved resulting in service users
Annual Service Review Page 5 of 7 being more involved and having more control. The AQAA shows that the required checks are carried out of the building and equipment protecting service users. From the information we have our judgement is that the home continues to provide a good service. This means that the people who use the service experience good outcomes. What are we going to do as a result of this annual service review? We will not change our inspection programme. We can inspect the service at any time if we believe there is a breach of standards or regulations. Annual Service Review Page 6 of 7 Reader Information
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