Willowmead Court is a purpose built complex of 12 individual apartments, designed to enable people over the age of 60 to retain as much independence, choice and control over their lives as possible. People have their own home with their own front door but have the security of having support on hand. The self-contained flats are fully wheelchair accessible with lifts to both floors. The development is next to one of the provider’s residential homes which mean people from Willowmead Court are able to use the meals service and take part in the social activities at the home.

Care and support are provided by staff from 07.30 am to 10pm, seven days a week. In addition, there is an out of hours on call system. At the time of our inspection there were 12 people using the service. The service was previously inspected in October 2013 where it was found to be fully compliant with regulations. The service had a registered manager. 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.

Everyone we spoke with commented how kind the staff were. Comments included, “I love it here” and “I can’t fault the place.” Care plans recorded people’s likes and dislikes and provided staff with information to enable them to provide care and support effectively. We saw people were cared for with compassion and respect. Staff were well trained and motivated. The registered manager and care coordinator provided effective leadership to the service and held regular meetings with people who used the service and their families to ensure people were involved in the running of the home.

The service was well led and people’s care was regularly reviewed. The care co-ordinator and registered manager had an excellent oversight of the service. Staff told us they felt happy and supported in their role. A visiting professional told us, “The service is very well run, if I ask them to carry out any instructions they will always follow the advice, they are very attentive.”

Medicines were managed safely and people had support from staff where needed. For example, some people only needed prompting to take their medicines whereas other people required staff to administer their medicines. Staff told us when the medicines were given to people the chart was signed to confirm people had received their medicines. Staff had received training in the safe administration of medicines and had been assessed as competent thereafter.

Safe recruitment procedures were carried out recruitment files we saw contained relevant documentation required to ensure only suitable staff were appointed. Staff received appropriate induction training and supervisions.

People knew how to make a complaint and were given the information to do so when they first joined the service. Staff were aware of the process to follow if someone made a complaint. This was in line with the service’s complaints procedure.

People had access to healthcare services to maintain good health. We spoke with one person who told us, “I have only been here for a few weeks, and have regular physiotherapy to improve my mobility.”

People told us staff will spend time with them to ensure their needs are met. One person said, “Even though the staff are very busy they always find time to chat to you.”

All the flats we visited were cleaned to a high standard and were individualised by the people who lived there.

There was a social afternoon every Wednesday in one of the main lounge areas which were within the complex. In addition people could join in social activities taking place in the residential home next to Willowmead Court. Staff told us, “If we have entertainment next door people can go along if they want to.”

The service had quality monitoring

We talked with four people who used the service that expressed a high level of satisfaction and who told us they felt well looked after. We observed that people were relaxed and comfortable and the people we spoke with told us they enjoyed the freedoms and independence the accommodation allowed. These people also told us that the flexible accommodation suited them and that having private space meant that they were able to more easily maintain social contact with relatives and friends.

We looked at a range of people’s weekly activity plans and we noted that a broad range of weekday, evenings and weekend activities were promoted. We spoke with one person who told us, “I am independent and I am able to go out when I want to, since I have been living here I have been given the support to help me walk again meaning I do not have to use a wheelchair. It is perfect.”

We spoke with three care staff who told us that they supported people to be as independent as possible and supported them to work towards and achieve personal leisure activities or social goals. We looked at four care files that demonstrated the personalised approach in place to support the staff’s comments. We observed that the manager operated a model of good practice by offering staff regular supervision and access to a framework of training and support that enabled them to provide a high quality of care.

We observed staff treating people with respect and were able to see that there was a good relationship between staff and people who used the service. We observed staff assessing people’s needs and ensuring that care was provided in line with individual care plans. We were able to see that people were comfortable and that there was adequate numbers of staff available to provide the individualised support needed.

We talked with four people using the service. All expressed a high level of satisfaction with it. They told us it met their needs and enabled them to retain their independence. They said the accommodation suited them and they were able to maintain contact with family and friends. One person said “This is the best place I’ve ever been to. The staff are so good and helpful.”. The person told us they were able to be as independent as they wished yet staff were available whenever they needed support. Another person described the service as “Perfect”. They said the staff were very nice, the accommodation was good and they had never had cause to complain. One person, while giving a positive account of the care they received, said they felt “closed in” living on the first floor and didn’t like using the lift. The fourth person we spoke with had been admitted from hospital. They told us they couldn’t fault the service and said they had no doubt they had made the right decision to move there.

We found the service had arrangements in place to provide the care and support people required. Before people received any care or support they were asked for their consent and staff acted in accordance with their wishes. The service had procedures to protect people from the risk of abuse. People were looked after by staff who were appropriately trained and supported. The provider had arrangements for monitoring the quality of the service provided to people.