22 February 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Hamilton House Care Home is a nursing home providing personal and nursing care for up to 46 people. At the time of the inspection there were 23 people using the service. The service was over 3 floors all accessed by a lift. Some bedrooms were en-suite and for those that were not, there were communal bathrooms and toilets available.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People and their relatives were happy with the care provided. They felt people got safe care and told us the registered manager had brought positive changes to the service.
Risks to people were identified and mitigated. Accidents and incidents were managed, and action taken to prevent reoccurrence. Systems were in place to manage infection control risks.
Safe medicine practice was promoted, and people’s health and nutritional needs were identified and met.
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.
Staff were suitably recruited, inducted, trained and supported in their roles. Sufficient staff were provided with less reliance on agency staff, which promoted continuity of care for people.
The service was clean and free from odours. Areas of the service had been refurbished with further improvements planned.
Staff were kind, caring and had a good knowledge of people. Staff were responsive to people’s needs.
Person centred care was provided, with people and their relatives involved in their care. Communication needs were identified, and end of life wishes sought. Access to activities had improved for people with further improvements planned. Systems were in place to manage concerns.
The service was suitably audited and well managed which resulted in improvements across the service. Records were suitably maintained, and organised. Systems were in place to get feedback from people and their relatives. Communication and teamwork had improved which resulted in positive outcomes for people.
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 inadequate (published 27 April 2022) and there were breaches of regulations. 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.
At our last inspection we recommended that the provider follow best practice in relation to safeguarding people, meeting people's hydration and nutrition needs and to promote people's privacy, dignity, choices and ensure they are treated with respect.
At this inspection we found the provider had acted on the recommendations and improvements had been made.
This service has been in Special Measures since 27 April 2022. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.
Why we inspected
We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 28 February, 1 and 15 March 2022. 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, staffing, need for consent, person centred care, good governance, premises and equipment and notifications to us.
We undertook this inspection 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.
The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to good based on the findings of this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Hamilton House Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.