Hillside Lodge

Updated 6 October 2022

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.

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 team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

Hillside Lodge 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. Hillside Lodge is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. The provider’s locality and skills development manager was providing oversight and is referred to in this report as ‘the manager’.

Notice of inspection

We gave short notice to the service. This was because we needed to ensure that a member of the staff team would be available to support the inspection and to ensure we were considerate of the person when visiting their home.

Inspection activity started on 20 July 2022 and ended on 9 August 2022. We visited the service on 25 July 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since they registered with the Commission. 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 or received written feedback from four health and social care professionals involved in the person’s care, which included, Speech and Language Therapist, Social Worker, Occupational therapist. We spoke with five staff which included the manager, senior support workers and support workers. We also spoke with the nominated individual who is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included the person’s care and medicines records, reports from health and social care professionals, and reviewed videos of the person taking part in activities and interacting with staff. We also reviewed two staff recruitment records, staff training records and records relating to the quality assurance of the service, including audits, and minutes of meetings.

Updated 6 October 2022

About the service

Hillside Lodge is a residential care home providing personal care. The service provides support to people with learning disabilities and autistic people. Although registered for up to two people, the provider had decided for the foreseeable future, to just accommodate the current person using the service.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

The person was 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 supported the person to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. Staff communicated with the person in ways that met their needs.

The service gave person centred care and support in a safe, well maintained, clean environment. On-going adaptions were made to meet the person’s sensory and physical needs. Staff referred to the service as the person’s home and were respectful of the person’s possessions.

Staff supported the person to take part in activities and pursue their interests in their local area.

Staff worked well with healthcare professionals and supported the person to access specialist health and social care support in the community.

Staff supported the person with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome.

Right Care:

Staff promoted equality and diversity. They understood the person’s cultural needs and provided culturally appropriate care.

The person received kind and compassionate care from staff whose main focus was to support them to live a meaningful life. If staff saw signs that the person was not having a good day, they told us it was a, “Matter of troubleshooting,” until they found out the reason why, and take action to address their concern.

Staff understood how to protect the person from poor care and abuse and worked well with other agencies to do so. They had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. One staff member told us they would not hesitate, “To report any abuse, bullying or any negative interaction to the manager,” straight away.

The person was supported by a selected, skilled staff team, which met their needs and kept them safe. When new staff were appointed to the team, it was done in a caring way, to reduce the risk of the person becoming anxious of a new face. Staff worked with professionals and received extra training to ensure they had the necessary communication skills to understand and interact with the person.

Staff supported the person to take part in activities and pursue interests that were tailored to them. Opportunities for the person to try new activities that enhanced and enriched their lives were being introduced.

Staff demonstrated a good awareness of risks the person might come across in their daily lives and take action to eliminate or reduce the risk. Where appropriate, they encouraged and enabled the person to take positive risks.

Right Culture:

Staff ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised so the person received support based on transparency, respect and inclusivity.

Staff knew and understood the person very well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. They placed the person’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did.

The person received good quality care, support and treatment because staff communicated well as a team and worked closely with health and social care professionals to meet the person’s needs and wishes.

Staff turnover was very low, which supported the person to receive consistent care from staff who knew them well. The high staffing level ensured the person always had someone who they knew well.

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 4 May 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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, which will help inform when we next inspect.