‘Family’ approach gets Outstanding rating for John Wills House care home

John Wills House care home, which is run by the Bristol-based charity, has been rated by the CQC as ‘Outstanding’ following an unannounced inspection last year.

Out of the five key lines of enquiry (KLOEs), Well Led, Caring and Responsive were all rated ‘Outstanding’, with Safe and Effective rated as ‘good’.

One big family

The inspection highlighted how “John Wills House was like one big ‘family’ where everybody was respected and treated equally,” and that they were “passionate about providing a service which was caring, compassionate and reflected the values of the organisation.”

John Wills House Care Home Manager, Wendy Leaman, said: “The feeling of being a ‘family’ is at the heart of everything we do at John Wills House.

“No individual is more important than anyone else and we all work together as team - supporting each other and sharing our experiences, just as real families do.

“This outstanding rating is a reflection of our ‘family’ approach to care and everyone, from the housekeeping, catering, portering and administration teams, to the nursing and care teams and all our volunteers, has contributed massively to this achievement.”

Compassionate care

In awarding their ‘Outstanding’ rating, the Care Quality Commission observed “consistently kind and compassionate care from staff who were observant and focussed on people’s well-being.”

They also noted that “there was a strong culture of joint ownership within the whole staff team and senior management to achieve exceptional outcomes for people through effective team work, feedback, governance and improvement.”

The care home’s end of life care was also singled out for special praise, describing the service as “exceptional in supporting people and their relatives both in planning for and at the end of the person’s life.”

The report also noted how staff had been regularly acknowledged by relatives for “the care and compassion they had shown towards people and their families.”

Exceptionally well run

Inspectors spoke to residents, relatives, health professionals and staff members. They observed staff with residents, and examined records including the staffing rota, policies, incident and accident records, recruitment and training records, meeting minutes and audit reports.

In their report, the CQC stated that residents and relatives “consistently told us the registered manager and staff were excellent,” and that “the home was exceptionally well run.”

One resident said "I would describe this home as doubly excellent,” while another said “everyone in this home is very friendly and the manager is very approachable, they put the people who live here first.”

Continuous improvement

Located in Westbury-on-Trym, John Wills House is a care home with nursing, which offers respite and rehabilitation services, specialist care for those who are living with dementia and also for those with general nursing needs.

In total John Wills House provides care for 80 people living at the service. The Orchards is home to 15 residents living with dementia, the Beeches has 40 beds which provide short term care and the Willows has 25 beds for those with general nursing needs.

St Monica Trust’s Chief Executive, David Williams, said: “My congratulations go to John Wills House’s Care Home Manager, Wendy Leaman and her entire team on becoming the first St Monica Trust care home to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating.

“What is particularly pleasing, is the improvement shown on their previous CQC inspection where the service was rated overall as ‘Good’ and Wendy’s leadership as ‘Outstanding’.

“The desire to continuously improve is a reflection of the dedication and commitment displayed by the John Wills House team on a daily basis.

“This is an achievement that the entire organisation can take great pride in and I can’t think of a better way to start what will be the Trust’s 100^th anniversary year.”

100th anniversary

The St Monica Trust, which celebrates its 100^th anniversary this year, operates four care homes across Bristol and North Somerset offering specialist nursing, dementia, short-term respite and end of life care, plus rehabilitation and reablement services.