James Hirons Care Home

Updated 5 August 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

Three inspectors completed the onsite visit and an Expert by Experience made telephone calls to relatives. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

James Hirons Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and we asked for the registered manager to be available to speak with us.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eleven members of staff including the provider, registered manager, assistant manager, senior care workers, care workers and the chef.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 5 August 2021

About the service

James Hirons Care Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 15 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 23 people.

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

People were happy with their care and support and were kept safe and protected against the risk of avoidable harm and abuse. Staff met people’s needs and keep the home clean. People received their prescribed medicines as and when they should. Staff ensured medicines management was organised and stored safely.

The provider had made checks on new staff to ensure they were suitable to work in an adult social care setting. Staff had training and support they needed to deliver effective care and support to people living at the care home. 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 suitably adapted and maintained. People accessed food and drink to meet their nutritional needs. People had access to health and social care professionals when required.

People were treated equally and had their human rights and diversity respected. People enjoyed the company of staff and spent time getting to know them. Staff treated people kindly and promoted independence while respecting their right to privacy.

Person centred care plans were in place for and staff used these to meet the personal, social and health care needs. Staff used a variety of ways to assist people to understand information given to them. People participated activities and maintain relationships with family and friends. People's concerns and complaints were listened to. End of life care wishes and been sought and recorded in accordance with their needs and wishes.

The provider and registered manager were known to people and regular checks were made to make sure people were happy with their care.

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 (published 20 December 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. 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.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 18 November 2019. Two breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment and good governance.

We undertook this inspection of all five key questions to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements.

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.

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.