Archived: Hillcroft Nursing Home

Hillcroft Nursing Home is 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. Hillcroft Nursing Home is registered to provide accommodation and personal care to a maximum of 28 people who may have a physical disability or diagnosis of Dementia. At the time of the inspection, there were 20 people living at the home.

There was 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.

The provider had made improvements to their systems to ensure that they informed us of events or accidents that occurred at the service. We saw that accidents and Deprivation of Liberty (DoLS) authorisations were notified to us as is required to meet the legal requirements of their registration with us. People were happy at the way the home was run and their views were regularly sought. The provider continued to review the quality of care via their own audits and checks which were effective in identifying improvements which we saw they had made. The registered provider has worked in partnership with other organisations and the registered manager has taken part in training with the local hospice to provide best practice initiatives for people needing end of life care.

People told us they felt safe living at the home. We saw staff understood how to recognise and report harm or abuse. Risks to people’s safety continued to be assessed, monitored and managed to keep people safe. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and people’s medicines were managed safely. The home’s environment was kept clean and hygienic.

People received effective care to meet their assessed needs because staff had relevant training and support to help them in their role. Staff sought people’s consent and any restrictions on people’s liberty were understood. People continued to be happy with the quality and choice of meals. People’s health was maintained with access to a range of healthcare professionals.

People described staff as caring and kind in their approach and remained happy that staff treated them with respect and protected their privacy and dignity. People continued to be involved in decisions about their care and their choices were respected.

People continued to receive care that was responsive to their needs and they were involved in deciding their care. The range of activities would benefit from improvement, for example including opportunities for people to go out into the community. The registered manager had raised this with the provider. People felt happy to approach staff with any concerns or complaints. People’s end of life needs were being taken into account to ensure they had appropriate professional support and that their wishes are known.

Further information is in the detailed findings below

Hillcroft Nursing Home is registered to provide accommodation and personal care to a maximum of 28 people who may have a physical disability or diagnosis of Dementia. At the time of the inspection, there were 22 people living at the home.

There was a registered manager in post who was present throughout the inspection. 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 were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had completed recruitment checks to ensure they were safe to work. Staff understood how to report concerns and manage risks to keep people safe. People were supported with their medication in a safe way.

Staff received on going training and supervision to enable them to support people effectively. People had their rights upheld in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and had been supported to access healthcare services where required. People were given choices at mealtimes and spoke positively about the meals they were provided with.

People were supported by staff who were kind and treated them with dignity. People felt involved in their care and were given choices. Advocacy services were available to people if required.

People’s care needs were reviewed and staff understood people’s needs and preferences with regards to their care. There were activities available for people and people had been supported to make complaints if needed.

The registered manager had not met their legal obligation to notify us of incidents that occur at the service. People spoke positively about the leadership at the service. Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service and people had been supported to provide feedback on their experience of the service.