Archived: Hawthorns Residential Care Home

Updated 9 August 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 18 July 2016 and was unannounced. The inspection was undertaken by one inspector.

We checked the information we held about the service and the provider and saw that no recent concerns had been raised. We had received information about events that the provider was required to inform us about by law, for example, where safeguarding referrals had been made to the local authority to investigate and for incidents of serious injuries or events that stop the service. We also contacted the local authority to ensure they were happy with the provision of care at the service.

We spoke with three people who used the service, and three relatives to ensure they were happy with the care people received. We also spoke with one social care professional to determine their views of the service.

During our inspection, we observed how staff interacted with the people and how people were supported during individual tasks and activities.

We spoke with the manager, the registered manager of a sister service and two care staff, to ensure that the service had robust quality systems in place and to gauge what they felt about the delivery of care. We also reviewed the care records of the three people who used the service to see if their records were up to date and reflected people’s needs. We looked at other records relating to the management of the service, including quality audit records to ensure that the service monitored its own performance.

Updated 9 August 2016

Hawthorns Residential Care Home provides accommodation and support for up to six people with learning disabilities and complex needs. It is situated in a residential part of Rushden, close to local amenities. On the day of our visit, there were three people living in the service.

Our inspection took place on 18 July 2016, and was unannounced.

The service did not have a registered manager. An application had been made by the manager of the service to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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 felt safe in the service. Staff understood the importance of safeguarding them and had been trained to recognise signs of potential abuse and neglect. They were aware of the systems in place to report or raise concerns. Processes were in place to manage identifiable risks for people and to enable them to remain as independent as possible using control measures. Risk assessments had been carried out to guide staff to manage and reduce the level of harm to which people may be exposed.

There were sufficient numbers of staff who had the right skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs. Safe and effective recruitment practices were followed to ensure that people remained safe.

People’s medicines were administered safely in line with prescribed guidance. There were suitable arrangements for the safe management of medicines.

Staff received on-going training to enable them to perform their roles and responsibilities appropriately. New staff had been provided with induction training to give them the right skills and knowledge to support people appropriately.

People’s consent was sought by staff on a daily basis and their decisions respected. Where people lacked capacity to make their own decisions, consent had been obtained in line with the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005.

People enjoyed a balanced dietary intake, in line with their specific preferences and dietary requirements. They were provided with a balanced diet and adequate amounts of food and drinks of their choice. Staff supported people to attend healthcare appointments and liaised with their GP and other healthcare professionals as required to ensure their general health and well-being was maintained.

People experienced care from staff that were kind, caring and compassionate and who understood their needs well because they had involved people in the care planning process. Staff worked hard to promote people’s privacy and dignity and respect their equality and diversity.

Staff understood how people preferred to be supported because they were guided by information contained within person centred care plans. There were effective systems in place for responding to complaints and people and their relatives were made aware of the complaints processes. People and where appropriate, their family, were given regular opportunities to express their views on the service they received.

The service was led by a team of established staff and as a result experienced good leadership. This positive ethos meant that staff were motivated and positive in their desire to provide good quality care for people. Quality assurance systems were in place and were used to monitor service performance and drive future improvement.