CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Willowbeech
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, July 2023
Willowbeech rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found safe, kind care but serious gaps in care planning, consent records and oversight.
This was the first inspection since the home was registered with CQC. It was unannounced and took place on 01 June 2023 and 06 June 2023. One inspector spoke with a person, relatives, staff and health and social care professionals, and checked care, medicine and management records.
The home was rated Good for Safe and Caring. Inspectors found enough staff, safe recruitment, safe medicine administration and suitable infection control. Staff knew people well and were described as kind, respectful and supportive.
The home was rated Requires Improvement for Effective, Responsive and Well-led. Risk assessments and support plans were not always up to date or detailed enough. Records did not always show how people's choices, communication needs, health instructions or legal consent requirements were being followed.
The overall rating means the home was not consistently providing the standard of care people should receive. CQC found breaches of Regulation 9 on person-centred care and Regulation 17 on good governance. The provider responded with an action plan, but CQC said it would continue to monitor progress.
Kind and respectful staff
Inspectors observed kind support, and relatives and professionals described staff as caring and compassionate. Familiar staff understood people's routines and individual needs.
“Staff interacted with people in a kind and considerate manner, treating them with dignity and respect.” from the report
Safe staffing and medicines
Staff recruitment checks were completed and there were enough staff to meet people's needs. Medicines were given by trained staff and records matched stock balances.
“Medicines were managed safely and administered by trained staff. Staff followed safe procedures when giving people their medicines.” from the report
Activities and family contact
People were supported to take part in cultural, educational and leisure activities, keep in touch with relatives and try new opportunities.
“People were supported to participate in a range of cultural, educational or leisure activities.” from the report
Improving staff culture
Staff said they felt supported by the registered manager. The home had introduced activities such as a 'Stay Up Late' campaign to give people more choice and freedom.
“Staff told us they felt supported by the management of the service” from the report
Care plans were not reliable
seriousSupport plans were not detailed or person-centred enough. They did not always explain people's preferences, communication, health needs or how staff should provide care.
“Support plans were not detailed, or person-centred.” from the report
Consent and best-interest records
seriousSome Mental Capacity Act assessments were missing, and support plans did not explain how recent DoLS conditions were being met. This made it difficult to know whether decisions were always properly recorded as being in people's best interests.
“People did not always have the necessary MCA assessments in place” from the report
Weak quality checks
seriousAudits and provider checks failed to identify several problems found by inspectors. This was a breach of Regulation 17.
“Quality assurance systems did not always operate effectively.” from the report
Complaints were not fully tracked
needs fixingComplaint investigations and outcomes were not always recorded, and feedback was not kept centrally. This meant the provider could not identify wider patterns or show that complaints had been handled properly.
“Complaints, compliments and feedback were not recorded in a central location.” from the report
The building needed improvement
needs fixingThe home needed decoration and its layout did not always give people privacy in their own spaces. The provider described planned improvement work.
“The home was in need of decoration throughout.” from the report
- 01Have you now reviewed my relative's support plan, risk assessments and communication preferences, and can I see what has changed?
- 02How do you record Mental Capacity Act assessments, best-interest decisions and any DoLS conditions for each person?
- 03How do staff receive and follow instructions from learning disability nurses, social workers and other health professionals?
- 04What checks now make sure the provider identifies problems that local management audits missed?
- 05How are complaints, compliments and family feedback recorded, investigated and used to improve care?
This was an unannounced first inspection covering all five key questions, including infection prevention and control; there were no previous CQC ratings for this newly registered service. This explanation was written from the published report of 14 July 2023 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Willowbeech
5 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has slipped, from Good to Requires improvement.
- July 2023Requires improvementcurrent ratingdown from GoodSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- January 2020Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2018Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- June 2017Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- August 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- February 2022
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 9 February 2022.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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37 live-in carers within about an hour of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
These are self-employed carers on PrimeCarers, the introductory agency that runs this directory. Each has a profile with their own rates and reviews from families, and you choose who to talk to.
Most charge £1,000 to £1,340 a week. 26 can care for a couple. 11 years' experience on average.
“We could not have managed without her calm, reassuring presence and practical knowledge and skill in caring and supporting both my husband and the family and I.”
“I cannot recommend Prisca highly enough, she is one in a million.”
Every carer has had an enhanced DBS check in the last 18 months, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview. Their skills and training are for you to check with them. Carers set their own rates, and who is free changes week to week.