Hamilton Park Nursing Home

Updated 29 June 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

Two inspectors carried out this inspection.

Service and service type

Hamilton Park Nursing Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Hamilton Park Nursing Home is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we had received from and about the service since the last inspection.

We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service.

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We were able to gather this information during our inspection.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We shared an inspection poster with the registered manager with our contact details to circulate to people, relatives and staff to seek their feedback. We spoke with eight people who were living at the service. We also spoke with 11 staff which included the registered manager, a registered nurse, care staff and ancillary staff. We spoke with three professionals during the inspection. We spent time observing the care and support provided to people.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records, multiple medication records, two staff recruitment files, minutes of meetings, health and safety records; audits and the service improvement plan. Following the inspection site visit, we received feedback from three relatives and two visiting professionals.

Updated 29 June 2022

About the service

Hamilton Park Nursing Home provides accommodation and nursing care for up to 34 people.

Accommodation is arranged over three floors and all bedrooms are single occupancy. The home is staffed 24 hours a day and a registered nurse is always on duty. 15 people were living at the service at the time of the inspection.

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

The provider and registered manager had made improvements in relation to the areas of concern we found at our last inspection. A new manager has been registered with the Care Quality Commission and provided strong leadership and direction for the staff team. People, relatives, staff and healthcare professionals were positive about the new manager and commented on the positive changes they had introduced.

The registered manager and provider monitored the quality and safety of the service. There was an improved programme of checks in place. Many improvements had been made since the last inspection to ensure the safety and quality of the care and support provided.

People using the service and their relatives were satisfied with the care and support they received from staff. People said they felt safe at the service and staff treated them with care and kindness. Staff were attentive, thoughtful and caring. We observed positive interactions between people and the staff team.

People were protected from the risk of abuse as staff received training, so they understood how to keep people safe. Risks associated with people's care were identified and managed safely. Sufficient numbers of safely recruited staff were on duty to meet people's needs. Medicines were managed in a safe way. Staff practiced good infection control to help protect people from possible infections.

People were supported by a group of staff who were trained and competent and who took pride in their work. Staff ensured people were supported with their dietary needs and had enough to eat and drink. People were referred to healthcare professionals when necessary and their recommendations were followed.

People were supported by staff who upheld their dignity and encouraged their independence. Staff supported people to take part activities and we observed staff spending time engaging people in conversations, and speaking to them in a friendly, warm and polite way.

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.

People knew how to raise concerns and were confident the registered manager would deal with them appropriately and resolved them where possible. There were systems in place to obtain people's views about the service.

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

Rating at last inspection and update - The last rating for this service was requires improvement and there were breaches of regulation (published 3 December 2021).

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 regulations.

At our last inspection we recommended that the provider follow manufacture's guidance when using medicine patches and that they ensure medical equipment is serviced as per the manufacture's recommendations. At this inspection we found the provider had acted on this recommendation and had made improvements.

Why we inspected - We undertook this unannounced comprehensive follow up inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Hamilton Park Nursing Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.