Hazelmead Residential Care Home

Updated 21 February 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.

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 an inspector and a regulatory coordinator.

Service and service type

Hazelmead 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. Hazelmead 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 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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because the service is small and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us.

Inspection activity started on 20 December 2023 and ended on 16 January 2024. We visited the service on 20 December 2023 and 16 January 2024.

What we did before the inspection

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 reviewed the information we held about the service and contacted the local authority for feedback. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people and 1 relative about their experience of care and support at the service. We made observations around the home during the inspection. We spoke with 7 staff members including the registered manager, operations manager, care staff, a director and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. Care records for 3 people were reviewed, along with multiple medicines records, and records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 21 February 2024

About the service

Hazelmead is a residential care home providing personal care for 5 people with physical and learning disabilities. There were 5 people living there at the time of the inspection. The home is a bungalow that had been designed to support people with physical disabilities.

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.

Right Support: 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. However, the practices around documenting decisions were not in line with guidance.

Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community. Staff knew people well and provided person-centred care. Care documentation included clear guidance on how to care for people.

Medicines were managed safely. 'When required' medicines had clear guidance on when to administer these medicines when people might not be able to ask for this themselves.

Right Care: Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse.

Risks to people were assessed and regularly reviewed when people's needs changed. The building was well maintained, and health and safety risks were assessed. The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people's needs and keep them safe. People were supported by staff who had been trained in how to care for their specific needs.

Right Culture: The provider’s quality assurance and monitoring systems were not always effective. We could not be assured lessons had been learnt and shared with staff following incidents or accidents. The quality monitoring systems had not identified the issues we found during the inspection.

There was a positive culture in the service. Staff said the management team were supportive. People enjoyed living at the service and felt listened to. People, their relatives, advocates and healthcare professionals were involved in planning their care.

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 23 August 2019).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the effective and well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘All inspection reports and timeline’ link for Hazelmead Residential Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to the need for consent and the governance processes at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.