Henry Nihill House

Updated 23 January 2024

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.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 4 inspectors altogether, 2 of whom focused on medicine.

Service and service type

Henry Hihill House 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. Henry Nihill 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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used the information we had about the provider including any statutory notifications to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 4 care staff, 2 nurses, 8 people using the service, 2 relatives, the registered manager, the deputy manager, a director of care, a trustee, and the activities facilitator. We reviewed 5 care plans, risk plans for 5 people, 10 medicine records, policies and procedures and a range of managerial documents such as quality audits.

Updated 23 January 2024

About the service

Henry Nihilll House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 30 people. The service provides support to older people and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 29 people using the service.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

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 and families told us the home was safe. Risks of harm were identified and mitigated as much as possible. Overall medicines was managed safely; however, we have made a recommendation about medicine. Staff were recruited safely. Staff understood their responsibility regarding protecting people from risk of harm or abuse. The home was clean and well maintained. Staff were relaxed and there was a warm and friendly atmosphere in the home during our visit.

There was a range of activities for people to choose. Some people did not always want to participate in activities. People who were unable to come out of their rooms were involved in 1:1 sessions with staff if that was what they wanted. The service had a robust complaints system in place, complaints were investigated in a timely manner. People's care plans were comprehensive, end of life care wishes were recorded and acted upon as much as possible. People's communication needs were assessed and met. Care was delivered in a person-centred way.

Most staff and people told us the home was well managed. Managers and leaders had clear systems in place to review the quality of care. Most staff told us they felt supported in their role. People and families told us they were involved in the home and had opportunities to give their feedback. The registered manager was clear about their role and their responsibility regarding statutory notification procedures.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 17 November 2018).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staffing levels, staff training, medicine errors. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, responsive, and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Henry Nihill House 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.