Archived: Hill House Nursing Home

Updated 27 July 2018

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This was a comprehensive, unannounced inspection, which took place on 16 May 2018. The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. Their experience related to the care of younger and older adults living with a range of health conditions.

Before our inspection the provider sent us their completed Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make. We spoke with local authority health and social care commissioners and looked at all of the key information we held about the service. This included written notifications about changes, events or incidents that providers must tell us about.

We spoke with four people who lived at the service, four relatives and a visiting health professional; and we observed staff interaction with people. We spoke with five care staff, including a team leader and one senior; and an activities co-ordinator, a nurse, a cook and a laundry assistant. We also spoke with the registered manager. We looked at four people’s care records and other records relating to how the service was managed. This included medicines records, meeting minutes, checks of the quality and safety of people’s care and related service improvement plans. We did this to gain people’s views about their care and to check that standards of care were being met.

Updated 27 July 2018

Hill House Nursing Home is ‘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. Care is provided in one adapted building for up to 29 adults, including older people and some who may be living with dementia.

At our last inspection we rated the service as Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained Good. There were 24 people accommodated, including 13 people receiving nursing care.

People continued to receive safe and effective care from staff who were trained, supported and deployed to ensure this.

Staff understood and followed the provider’s risk management systems relating to people’s care, medicines, environment and any equipment used for their care. This helped to protect people from the risk of harm or abuse in the least restrictive manner.

The provider took regular account of people’s safety needs and acted promptly to review and prevent any reoccurrence when things went wrong. This helped to ensure people’s safety, including from lessons learned when needed.

People needs were assessed before they received care and their related care choices were taken into account to inform their care provision at the service. People’s consent or appropriate authorisation was lawfully obtained for their care to ensure their rights and best interests.

People were supported to maintain and improve their health and nutrition, in consultation with external health professionals when needed. Partnership working with relevant external agencies and care professionals helped to ensure effective, informed care practice and related information sharing.

People continued to receive care from kind, caring and compassionate staff, who ensured people’s dignity, independence and rights in their care. Staff consulted with people and their representatives and followed what was important to people for their individual care, preferred daily living routines and lifestyle preferences.

People continued to receive timely, individualised care, which was agreed and reviewed with them or their representatives when required. Staff understood and followed their role and responsibilities for people’s care and knew how to communicate with people in a way they agreed and understood.

People were provided with information about their care and regularly supported to engage in home and often community life as they chose. Work was in progress to quality assure and optimise this for people.

People and relatives were informed and knew how to raise any concerns, or make a complaint if they needed to. The provider used any related investigation findings and feedback they regularly sought from people, relatives and external professionals to help inform and improve people’s care when needed.

The service continued to be well led. The provider operated effective systems to ensure the quality, safety and effectiveness of people’s care, and ongoing service improvement and relevant information sharing.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.