The Willows Home Care North East

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. This was the first inspection for this service. This key question has been rated 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 registered manager completed assessments of people’s needs, which were detailed and comprehensive. They worked with people to determine their health, care, wellbeing and communication needs with them. The care plans and risk assessments clearly detailed people’s needs. A relative said, “[Person’s name] and myself are involved with their care manager and the homecare team reviewing management strategies. [Person’s name] needed additional support was arranged very quickly by the care manager.”

The registered manager 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 ensured people’s health needs were monitored, and when needed, they received nutritious meals. A person said, “The [staff] always make sure I’m alright and have plenty to eat and drink before they leave.”

Staff 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. The registered manager worked closely with other agencies and professionals such as GPs and community nursing services. A relative said, “The staff are very knowledgeable about [person’s name] needs and they will always contact us or the district nurses if there are issues.”

Staff supported people to manage their health and wellbeing to maximise their independence, choice and control. Staff assisted people to live healthier lives and, where possible, reduce their future needs for care and support. A relative said, “Any risks are fed back to myself immediately. A good recent example was a medication anomaly which was spotted by the carer, who immediately contacted myself. I haven't had to raise any concerns with the Willows homecare team. Any instructions that I have relayed to them have been adhered to.”.

The registered manager 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. A professional said, “I have found staff helpful and supportive.”

Staff told people about their rights around consent and respected these when delivering person-centred care and treatment. Although no one lacked capacity staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act and associated codes of practice. People made their own choices and decisions about what they did, what they ate and how they filled their time.