Archived: The Hawthornes

The Hawthornes is a care home which offers care and support for up to 40 people. All bedrooms have en-suite facilities and there are communal areas such as lounge, dining area and bathrooms. At the time of our inspection there were 38 people living at the home.

The service had a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they felt safe living at the home and appropriate procedures were in place to help keep people safe. Risk assessments had been completed and measures put into place to reduce risks. The building was well maintained and regular safety checks took place.

Medicines were managed and stored in a safe way and staff who were responsible for administering medicines had received training to do safely.

Staff were recruited in a safe way and had received appropriate training to enable them to provide effective care and support to people. Staff received support through regular supervision.

Consent to care was sought from people and staff acted in accordance with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and associated Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

The design and layout of the home was appropriate to meet people’s needs and the home was fresh and clean.

People told us staff were caring. We observed a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere in the home and people’s privacy and dignity were respected.

Care and support was provided in a person centred manner. Care needs were regularly reviewed and people were involved in their care planning. People told us they could make their own choices.

Staff understood their roles and responsibilities and the home was well-led. Staff were motivated to provide good care to people.

Regular staff meetings and resident meetings were held and the registered manager sought feedback from people.

Audits took place regularly and action plans were developed and acted upon to improve the service.

The people who used the service and their relatives told us they were looked after very well and felt safe with the care and treatment provided. Their comments included: "It is alright here", 'The place is very comfortable', 'They are very caring here' and 'I feel safe and happy here, I really do'.

We found that the service had appropriate systems in place to ensure consent was gained before staff proceeded with personal care.

We spent time observing the two lounges and two dining areas during the day of our inspection. We looked at how people spent their time and how staff interacted with people.

The interactions we saw between staff and people who used the service and visitors were respectful. We saw some people engaged in activities with members of staff such as watching TV, enjoying beverages and snacks and being escorted around the building.

People were consulted and we saw evidence that people received the care they needed. For example we saw up to date plans of care which considered individual physical, emotional and mental health care needs. We saw risk assessments and that all documentation was kept up to date to ensure people had their changing needs met. We saw that the home consulted with specialists to make sure people had the benefit of expert advice.

People were protected from harm and the risk of harm through staff training and risk assessments. The service referred safeguarding incidents to the local authority and to CQC as required to ensure people were protected. Staff also had training in mental capacity and deprivation of liberty safeguards.

Staff were suitably recruited to ensure they could offer the appropriate care to people.

The home had a complaints procedure, we saw that the home dealt with complaints appropriately and people told us that they knew how to complain.