This was an unannounced inspection. At the last inspection carried out on 12 and 13 March 2015 we found that the provider was not meeting the regulation in relation to not having effective arrangements in place to ask and act on people’s consent and not ensuring that action had been taken to seek authorisation where restrictions were in place. After the inspection the provider sent us an action plan setting out the improvements that they would make. At this inspection we found that the provider had made the required improvements.
Hamilton Court is a care home which is registered to provide care to up to 13 people. The home specialises in the care of people with a learning disability and mental health support needs. On the day of our inspection there were 12 people living at Hamilton Court.
There was a registered manager in post. 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.
People were protected from risk because measure were in place to ensure risks to people were managed. Staff understood the different types of abuse and knew what action they would take if they thought a person was at risk of harm.
Staff were aware of the signs that would indicate that a person was unhappy, so that they could take appropriate actions. Staff were able to describe what constitutes abuse and the reporting procedures they would follow.
People were supported by adequate numbers of staff on duty.
People were supported to receive their medication as prescribed. Medicines were safely managed. Staff who administered medicines had received training in this.
Staff received the training and support they needed to carry out their role effectively. Training included some specific training relevant for the needs of the people who lived at the home.
Staff were kind and compassionate in the way they supported people. People were supported to pursue interest and hobbies that were of interest to them.
Staff sought people’s consent before providing care and support. Staff understood the circumstances when the legal requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were to be followed.
People had access to food and drinks and were supported to have food that they enjoyed.
People were supported to stay healthy. Opportunities were provided to support people to see health professionals and to attend health related appointments.
People told us that improvement had been made since our last inspection. Our findings at the inspection supported this view. Systems to monitor the quality of the service had been embedded and were effective.