Haunton Hall

Updated 6 June 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.

This was a focused inspection to check whether the provider had met the requirements of the Warning Notice in relation to regulation 12 (safe care and treatment) and regulation 17 (good governance) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

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

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors 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.

Service and service type

Haunton Hall 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. Haunton Hall 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 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 not a registered manager in post. The provider was in the process of recruiting for this position. The operations director was acting as the manager and had support from other senior members of staff.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the 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 (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 used the service and 4 relatives. We spoke with 9 members of staff including the nominated individual, the operations director/acting manager, the deputy manager, a unit manager, a nurse, care staff, an activity coordinator and the head of housekeeping. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed 5 people's care records, 2 staff files and multiple medicine records. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

Updated 6 June 2023

About the service

Haunton Hall is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 41 people the time of our inspection. The service can support up to 90 older people some of whom may have a diagnosis of dementia.

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

There had been significant improvements made since the last inspection. However, some care plans did not always accurately reflect people’s needs and some people’s records had not been consistently completed. However, staff knew people’s needs well and people told us they received safe and effective care. We made a recommendation to the provider about this.

There had been some changes across the management structure which meant there was no current registered manager in place. The provider was in the process of recruiting the appropriate persons to take on the role.

There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs. Some staff felt some additional staffing was needed in units which supported people with dementia. The operations director was aware of this and had already begun recruiting new staff.

Medicine management had vastly improved, and staff took measures to mitigate the risk of the spread of infection. There were processes in place for people and staff to follow if they had safeguarding concerns. The management team had worked to identify where things had previously gone wrong and had taken actions to learn lessons and improve the quality of care people received.

Staff had received relevant and appropriate training and the training statistics for staff completing all training had improved. People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a healthy, and balanced diet. The management team worked alongside external health professionals to ensure people’s health needs were met in the most effective way.

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 governance systems in place had improved but required reviewing, strengthening, and embedding. The management team had mechanisms in place to gauge feedback about the care people received and staff were engaged in the day to day running of the service.

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 25 July 2022). We issued the provider with a warning notice which included a date for compliance. 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 focused inspection of this service on 25 July 2022. Breaches of legal requirements 15 (Premises and Equipment) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and regulation 17 (good governance) were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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 requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Haunton Hall 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.