Hartfield House Care Home

Updated 26 March 2021

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.

As part of CQC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic we are looking at the preparedness of care homes in relation to infection prevention and control. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 26 February 2021 and was announced.

Updated 26 March 2021

About the service

Hartfield House Care home is a residential home providing personal and nursing care for people with aged related illnesses or who may be living with dementia. The service accommodates up to 62 people in one adapted building split into four separate wings, each of which has separate adapted facilities. At the time of our inspection there were 37 people living at the home, within three of the four available wings.

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

People told us they were happy living at Hartfield House Care home. One person said, “I think it’s a wonderful home. Everything is clean and tidy, my clothes are always nicely looked after, the food is superb, and the staff will do anything for you. What more can I say.”

The overall feedback about the home from people and their relatives was very positive. However, there were two areas we have recommended that the provider needed to monitor due to feedback we had received, and observations made on the day of the inspection. The home was just over half full at the time of the inspection and people felt that as the home took in more people the level of care they were receiving was reducing. The registered manager explained that this situation was being closely monitored. For example, they were not opening the forth wing of living accommodation until staff were in place. The other area that had changed recently was the provision of activities. Activities in the months prior to the inspection had been more varied and abundant. Due to changes in staffing people had noticed the activity provision had significantly reduced to what they had been used to. The registered manager explained that recruitment was underway for new activities staff to address this.

People were safe and staff understood how to keep people safe from harm because risks to people’s health and safety had been assessed and were well managed. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities in keeping people safe from abuse. On the day of our inspection there were enough staff deployed to keep people safe and meet their needs. Peoples medicines were well managed to ensure people had them as prescribed, or when needed. The home was kept clean and tidy to protect people from the risk of infections.

Staff received training and supervisions to enable them to provide a good standard of care to people. Assessments of peoples support needs was carried out prior to them moving in, to ensure staff were able to meet those needs and that the home environment would suit the person. People were supported to have enough to eat and drink. Feedback about the quality of the food was very positive.

The staff at the home worked closely with local healthcare professionals to ensure that people remained healthy. Where people became unwell the staff were well trained to assess the situation and involve outside agencies to help people in good time.

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 were very positive about the caring nature of the staff, and felt they were involved in day to day decisions about their care and welfare. People were treated with dignity and respect by the staff. People’s feedback was welcomed and used to make improvements to the home.

Care plans had been developed with people to ensure their preferences and choices on how care was given to them were understood by staff. Staff knew the people they cared for as individuals and were seen to take time to sit and talk with them. Where people were at the end of their lives, they were supported by compassionate staff who delivered care and support in accordance with their wishes.

Quality assurance processes were in place and these ensured that a good level of care and support was given. The registered manager understood their role and responsibilities with regards to the Health and Social Care Act Regulations and had ensured the requirements had been met.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 18 September 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence 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.