Hartfield House Care Home

We found the following examples of good practice.

People who had to isolate in their rooms received frequent support from staff to engage with activities of their choice. This included people who had just moved to the service.

Staff received regular training specific to infection prevention and control and COVID-19. The management team carried out observations of staff PPE practice and hand hygiene to ensure good practice.

People living at the service had individual COVID-19 risk assessments which were regularly reviewed. This was to help identify factors which might make them particularly vulnerable and how these could be addressed.

The registered manager took part in several local forums with other health and social care professionals to share ideas and support the service to follow best practice in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hartfield House Care home is a residential home providing personal and nursing care for people with aged related illnesses or who may be living with dementia. The service accommodates up to 62 people in one adapted building split into four separate wings, each of which has separate adapted facilities. At the time of our inspection there were 37 people living at the home, within three of the four available wings.

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

People told us they were happy living at Hartfield House Care home. One person said, “I think it’s a wonderful home. Everything is clean and tidy, my clothes are always nicely looked after, the food is superb, and the staff will do anything for you. What more can I say.”

The overall feedback about the home from people and their relatives was very positive. However, there were two areas we have recommended that the provider needed to monitor due to feedback we had received, and observations made on the day of the inspection. The home was just over half full at the time of the inspection and people felt that as the home took in more people the level of care they were receiving was reducing. The registered manager explained that this situation was being closely monitored. For example, they were not opening the forth wing of living accommodation until staff were in place. The other area that had changed recently was the provision of activities. Activities in the months prior to the inspection had been more varied and abundant. Due to changes in staffing people had noticed the activity provision had significantly reduced to what they had been used to. The registered manager explained that recruitment was underway for new activities staff to address this.

People were safe and staff understood how to keep people safe from harm because risks to people’s health and safety had been assessed and were well managed. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities in keeping people safe from abuse. On the day of our inspection there were enough staff deployed to keep people safe and meet their needs. Peoples medicines were well managed to ensure people had them as prescribed, or when needed. The home was kept clean and tidy to protect people from the risk of infections.

Staff received training and supervisions to enable them to provide a good standard of care to people. Assessments of peoples support needs was carried out prior to them moving in, to ensure staff were able to meet those needs and that the home environment would suit the person. People were supported to have enough to eat and drink. Feedback about the quality of the food was very positive.

The staff at the home worked closely with local healthcare professionals to ensure that people remained healthy. Where people became unwell the staff were well trained to assess the situation and involve outside agencies to help people in good time.

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 were very positive about the caring nature of the staff, and felt they were involved in day to day decisions about their care and welfare. People were treated with dignity and respect by the staff. People’s feedback was welcomed and used to make improvements to the home.

Care plans had been developed with people to ensure their preferences and choices on how care was given to them were understood by staff. Staff knew the people they cared for as individuals and were seen to take time to sit and talk with them. Where people were at the end of their lives, they were supported by compassionate staff who delivered care and support in accordance with their wishes.

Quality assurance processes were in place and these ensured that a good level of care and support was given. The registered manager understood their role and responsibilities with regards to the Health and Social Care Act Regulations and had ensured the requirements had been met.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 18 September 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence 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.