Hill View Care Home

Updated 17 September 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

This service provides care and support to people living in one ‘supported living’ setting, so that they can live as independently as possible. People’s care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for supported living; this inspection looked at people’s personal care and support.

Hill View Care Home is also a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered, who was also the registered provider, with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider/registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with all three people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager/provider, two senior staff and two support workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medicine records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and at the staff supervision records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We spoke to two relatives after the inspection to gain further information about the service.

Updated 17 September 2019

About the service

The service combines a care home and a Domiciliary Care Agency (DCA). The care home provides care and support for one person living with autism. The DCA service supports two people with learning disabilities and autism in a supported living environment.

Supported living means people have their own tenancy and can choose who supports them.

The Secretary of State has asked the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to conduct a thematic review and to make recommendations about the use of restrictive interventions in settings that provide care for people with or who might have mental health problems, learning disabilities and/or autism.

Thematic reviews look in-depth at specific issues concerning quality of care across the health and social care sectors. They expand our understanding of both good and poor practice and of the potential drivers of improvement.

As part of thematic review, we carried out a survey with the manager at this inspection. This considered whether the service used any restrictive intervention practices (restraint, seclusion and segregation) when supporting people.

The service used positive behaviour support principles to support people in the least restrictive way. No restrictive intervention practices were used.

The care home service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

People from both the care home and supported living service said they were happy with the service provided. One said; “I like the staff” and another “The staff are nice.”

People, when asked said they felt safe with the staff supporting them. Systems were in place to safeguard people. Risks to them were identified and managed. The support required with medicines was assessed, agreed and provided to people. Infection control measures were in place to prevent cross infection. Staff were suitably recruited. People were supported by a mostly long serving staff team. Staffing levels were flexible to enable the service to provide a bespoke service to people to meet their needs.

People were supported by staff who completed an induction, training and were supervised. The support required by people with health and nutritional needs was identified and provided. 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 confirmed staff were kind and caring. Their privacy and independence were promoted.

Systems were in place to deal with concerns and complaints. This enabled people to raise concerns about their care if they needed to.

People had person centred care plans in place. They were actively involved in their care and contributed to the development of care plans and reviews. Some people had staff support to access activities and holidays. This was flexible and provided in response to people’s choices. People’s communication needs were identified, and some people had end of life wishes explored and recorded.

People were supported by a service that was well managed. Records were accessible and up to date. The service was audited, and action taken to address any areas identified that needed improving. People and staff were complimentary of the registered provider and described them as; “Always making themselves available, very hands on and caring.” Staff were committed to providing good outcomes for people.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

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 3 January 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.