Archived: Paddock Hill

Updated 2 December 2020

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 5 November 2020 and was announced.

Updated 2 December 2020

About the service

Paddock Hill is a residential care home that provides accommodation and personal care for adults with a range of care and support needs, including adults who are living with dementia. The home can accommodate up to 40 people in one adapted building over three floors. At the time of this inspection there were 38 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People felt safe living at Paddock Hill. They were cared for by staff who knew how to reduce the risk of people experiencing avoidable harm. Staff were aware of their responsibilities to safeguard people from abuse and they were all confident the registered manager would quickly address any concerns they raised. People’s medicines were mostly managed safely, however, some improvements were needed to the management of people’s topical medicines, such as creams, and medicines people needed at specific times of the day. People were protected from the spread of infection.

There were enough staff available to keep people safe, however, staff said they did not always have time to support people to remain meaningfully occupied throughout the day. We have made a recommendation about the development of activity provision in the home. People were cared for by staff who knew them very well. People’s care records contained detailed information about their preferences and interests. This supported staff to provide personalised care to people. People were happy with the care they received from staff. People and their relatives told us they could raise any concerns with the staff or registered manager.

Everyone told us the staff were kind and caring. We observed staff had a good rapport with people living at Paddock Hill. Staff provided effective reassurance to people when they became anxious or distressed. People were supported to remain involved in decisions about their care. Staff promoted people’s privacy and dignity and they treated people with respect. People told us staff supported them to remain as independent as possible.

People enjoyed the food at Paddock Hill. Staff supported people to maintain a nutritious diet. People were supported to maintain their heath, by accessing community health professionals on a regular basis. People were supported by staff who completed regular training and received effective support from the registered manager. People’s relatives told us they were happy with the quality of care their family member received. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

The home was well-run. People were supported by staff who enjoyed their jobs. An experienced registered manager completed a range of regular checks on the quality and safety of the service. Areas for improvement were identified, however increased management oversight of some areas of the service was required, to ensure necessary improvements were embedded and sustained. The provider, registered manager and staff were all committed to providing people with good quality care.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 29 January 2019) and we identified one breach of regulation at that inspection.

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of any regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.