Hungerford Care Home

Updated 5 December 2023

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

This inspection was carried out by 3 inspectors.

Service and service type

Hungerford Care 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. Hungerford Care 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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was no registered manager in post. A manager had begun their employment at Hungerford Care Home 3 weeks prior to our inspection and had started the process of registering with the CQC.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since their registration. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 8 people who lived at Hungerford Care Home and 3 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 12 members of staff including the manager, regional support manager, regional manager, nurses, and care staff. We reviewed a range of records including 9 people's care plans and medicines records. We looked at recruitment checks for 3 staff members. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and audits was also reviewed.

Updated 5 December 2023

Hungerford Care Home is a nursing home providing personal and nursing care to up to 59 people in one adapted building. The service provides support to older people and people with physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 42 people using the service.

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

People and staff told us they felt there had been a lack of leadership at the service which had led to concerns not being addressed and people and staff not feeling listened to. Quality assurance systems had not been effective in ensuring people’s opinions were heard and improvements in the quality of the service made. Where feedback had been sought, this had not been acted upon.

Risks to people’s safety and well-being were not consistently monitored and there was a lack of guidance for staff in supporting people’s emotional needs. Some people told us they had to wait for their care due to staff always being busy. Staff told us they did not always have time to fully support people with their care or spend time with them socially. The home was not always cleaned to a good standard and there was a strong odour in some areas.

People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice. The principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were not always followed to ensure people’s legal rights were protected.

At the time of our inspection a new management team had been in post for 3 weeks. During this time, they had made progress in reviewing the current concerns and implementing actions to monitor and address these areas. People and staff felt the new management team were listening to concerns and trust was being built. The provider ensured CQC were notified of concerns in line with their statutory responsibilities.

People had access to healthcare professionals when required and received their medicines in line with their prescriptions. People provided mixed responses regarding the quality of the food provided but confirmed they were always offered a choice.

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

Rating at last inspection – The date of the last inspection at which we awarded a rating was 3 November 2017 and the service was rated good.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated good and outstanding.

This was a focused inspection which looked at the key questions of Safe, Effective and Well-led. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

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

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to people’s safe care and treatment, consent to care and good governance at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.