We carried out a review of the data available to us about Alton House Care Home - Hayling Island on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Alton House Care Home - Hayling Island, you can give feedback on this service.
Alton House Care Home accommodates up to 18 people in one adapted building, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection the home was providing care and support to16 people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The provider did not have sufficient oversight of all of the systems in the service. When safeguarding concerns were highlighted to the provider, they did not investigate these in a robust way or demonstrate they used this as an opportunity to learn and make improvements. We have made a recommendation about this. The provider has told us of their plans to improve this.
The provider had not notified CQC about an important event that happened in the service which meant this could not be monitored. We have made a recommendation about this.
Improvements to other quality assurance systems had recently been implemented. These had already driven improvement in some areas of service provision.
Effective systems were in place to prevent and control the spread of infection, and to manage medicines safely.
Risks associated with people’s needs and health conditions were effectively assessed, monitored and mitigated. People’s needs were met in a personalised way. Staff knew people well and understood how to support them safely.
Recruitment practices were safe and there were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people's needs. Staff told us they had enough training to carry out their roles effectively and were well supported.
The provider worked well with healthcare professionals to ensure joined up care and good outcomes for people.
People were happy living at Alton House Care Home and spoke positively about the care they received. The service had a positive person-centred culture. People, relatives and staff provided us with positive feedback about the registered manager. They also told us they would recommend the home to others.
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 requires improvement (published 16 October 2019).
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to person-centred care, infection control and the premises and equipment. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
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.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement in the well-led domain. Please see the well-led section of this full report. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Alton House Care Home offers accommodation over two floors for up to 18 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. The home had some rooms which were shared rooms. At the time of the inspection the home was providing care and support to 18 people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The provider’s quality assurance systems were not fully effective in identifying all concerns in the service and in driving the necessary improvement. At times there was a lack of clear and accurate records regarding people’s medicines and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. We have made a recommendation about this.
The provider was in the process of making improvements in the service. This included moving to electronic care planning and improving the environment for people.
People, relatives and health professionals thought the service was safe. There was enough staff to support people safely and meet their needs. People were protected from the risk of abuse. Risks associated with people’s support needs were mostly assessed, monitored and mitigated effectively.
People's needs were met in an individual and personalised way by staff who were kind and caring. Independence was promoted, privacy, dignity and people's rights and freedoms were upheld. 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.
Staff told us they enjoyed working at the service and were supported by regular training and supervision.
People, relatives, staff and external professionals were positive about the registered manager.
The registered manager demonstrated a willingness to make improvements and during the inspection began reviewing their systems and processes to ensure the service consistently provided good, safe, quality care and support.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was Good (published January 2017).
The overall rating for the service has changed from Good to Requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Alton House offers accommodation over two floors for up to 18 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. The home had some rooms which were double occupancy. At the time of the inspection the home was providing care and support to 18 people.
There was a registered manager who had been in post since September 2014. 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.
Staff had undertaken safeguarding training and were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities in keeping people safe from harm.
There were risk specific assessments in place for each person which showed the risk level and the measures which had been put in place to mitigate the risk.
Medicines were managed safely. There were robust processes in place for the ordering, storing, administering and recording the use of medicines.
There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs safely and effectively and staff recruitment processes were safe and robust.
Staff underwent an induction and shadowing prior to commencing work, and had regular updates to their training to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to carry out their roles. Staff were well supported and received supervisions and appraisals regularly.
The home worked within the guidelines of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and ensured people were not unlawfully deprived of their liberty.
People had access to a range of food and drinks throughout the day, and people told us the food was good and plentiful.
Staff were kind, caring, attentive and patient in their support of people in the home. There were positive relationships evident between staff and people who lived in the home. People were treated with dignity and respect.
Care plans were detailed and person centred. Care plans contained personal preferences and instructed staff on encouraging people to maintain their independence. Care plans were reviewed and updated regularly.
There were activities taking place in the home, which we saw people enjoyed and engaged with. People told us there was plenty going on to keep them occupied.
There was strong leadership in the home, and the registered provider had processes in place to ensure they had oversight of the quality and safety of the home and the support it offered. Records were of a good standard and were well organised and easily accessible.
People's needs were assessed and their care and treatment was planned and delivered to promote their safety and welfare. A person said "I can't fault it, they (staff) offer me help and I am happy here". Another person said "I am quite satisfied".
We found that the provider had made improvements to protect people from the risk of health associated infections in their facilities and practice. People's relatives we spoke with told us the home was clean and comfortable, one relative said "they have made improvements to the environment and that is good to see".
Staff we spoke with told us they were adequately supported in their role and we found that staff completed an induction and training which met the relevant standards. Staff we spoke with were knowledgeable about people's needs and a person's relative told us "the staff do a very good job and they do the best that they can"
We found the provider had an effective system in place to monitor the quality of the service that people received.
In this report the name of a registered manager appears who was not in post and not managing the regulatory activities at this location at the time of the inspection. Their name appears because they were still a Registered Manager on our register at the time.
On the day of our inspection, we found there was not an effective operation of systems to assess the risk of and to prevent, detect and control the spread of health associated infection. For example, we found pressure cushions and matresses that were soiled.