Hamshaw Court

Updated 16 July 2022

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 was completed by two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Hamshaw Court 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. Hamshaw Court 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 service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection, there was not a registered manager in post. A new manager started at the service in December 2021 and they had applied to become the registered manager.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service.

We used information the provider sent us in the provider information return. 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and five people’s relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the regional manager, manager, deputy manager, senior care workers and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of other records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 16 July 2022

About the service

Hamshaw Court is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 45 older people who may also be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection, there were 19 people using the service.

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

People gave positive feedback about the improvements that had been made since the last inspection. The new manager and provider had worked to address concerns and reduce risks.

More detailed care plans and risk assessments were used to guide staff on how to safely support people. The manager was responsive and made further improvements where needed following our feedback.

Improvements had been made to help make sure people received their prescribed medicines when needed. We spoke with the manager in relation to recording issues for one person and made a recommendation in relation to making sure medicines were stored at the right temperature.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control over 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. Applications had been submitted to ensure people were lawfully deprived of their liberty.

Systems and processes were in place to help minimise the risks associated with COVID-19. Some environmental issues needed to be addressed to ensure all areas of the service could be kept hygienically clean.

People felt safe living at the service. Staff were safely recruited, and enough staff were deployed to safely meet people’s needs. Agency staff were used where necessary to cover gaps in the rota. A system was in place to help make sure agency staff had the information and skills to safely support people. The manager was working to reduce the number of agency staff used.

Regular audits were used to help monitor the quality and safety of the service. Action plans were used to support continuous improvements. People praised the changes made, the improved communication and how management responded to feedback.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 9 November 2021) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. At this inspection, improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

This service had been in Special Measures since 9 November 2021. During this inspection, the provider demonstrated improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced focussed inspection of this service on 30 September and 5 October 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found.

We undertook this focused inspection to follow up on action we told the provider to take following our last inspection and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions safe and well-led, which contain those requirements.

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Hamshaw Court 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.